Remember
by mercymia
Summary: Puck comes to visit Mercedes to figure out what's been going on in her life. Decided to make a multi-chapter fic!
1. Chapter 1

Mercedes sat on her bed with her Ipod turned up; listening to the new song that Shelby had given her. She felt a twinge of excitement, since Shelby hinted to her performing it at sectionals. The song was an interesting pick, not one she would've chosen, but she trusted Shelby's judgment. She stared at her ceiling as she hummed various rifts that she could possible sing, trying to imagine and create her own feel to the song. She felt her eye lids getting heavy and she glanced at her clock. It was close to eleven and seeing as she had nothing better to do, she decided to get ready for bed. She walked over to her closet, which contained her dresser. She reached into the bottom drawer and pulled out a pair of pajamas. She placed her Ipod on her dresser, with the ear buds still in, and began pulling off the clothes that she had been wearing, exchanging them for sweatpants and a tank top. She grabbed a scarf and wrapped her hair and faced herself in the mirror. Though it was time for her to go to bed, she had to admire how cute she looked. Deciding she was satisfied with her bed attire she turned around to actually get in her bed, when she was stopped by the presence of a certain Mohawked boy.

"Puck…" She said with mouth gapping.

"Hey Cede," he said with a small smile. She watched as he shuffled his feet nervously and wondered why he was acting so strange.

"Did my parents really let you in this late? I thought they'd be asleep."

"They are," he smirked. "I know where you're spare key is."

"Of course you do," she giggled. They stood there in a comfortable silence and then she wondered how long he had been standing there.

"Did you just watch me change?" Puck through up his hands up in protest,

"No! I mean I opened the door and I saw you taking your shirt off, but I'm turned around and waited a few more moments until I was sure you were dressed." Mercedes raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Believe me, I wanted to," Mercedes didn't move, Puck was just being Puck, "but now that Beth's back in my life, I think about the guy I'd want her to date and I'm trying to be that guy." Mercedes relaxed her stance a bit. She knew when he brought his daughter into the picture he was serious. Mercedes was a little surprised. She didn't know that Puck was in contact with Beth. It made sense since Shelby was back, but for some reason she didn't connect the dots.

"I knew Shelby was back, but I didn't know you had seen Beth. That's amazing." She crossed her room and laid her hand on his shoulder,

"I'm happy to hear that you're bonding with her. I always knew you could change, you just had to find the right girl." Mercedes winked at him and turned around and sat on her bed.

"Take a seat, Puck. Anywhere you want. You know you're way around." Puck took a seat at the desk next to Mercedes bed. He swiveled in her chair, rubbing his palms together.

"I would've told you sooner, but we haven't really talked since after Lauren and I broke up."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Things in my life have just recently gotten complicated."

"I noticed." Puck's voice had a slight hint of coldness to it, which surprised Mercedes. Puck was always warm and loving towards her, but she had heard him use that voice when he was crossed with Quinn or Lauren. He used that voice when he was hurt. Mercedes wondered what she had done to make him upset.

"Is everything okay?" Puck looked at Mercedes like she was speaking another language; he quickly looked down into his lap, rubbing his hands along his thighs.

"We need to talk," he said with a little less coldness, but Mercedes could still the feel the chill.

"About what?" Mercedes sighed. She tried to seem genuinely surprised that he wanted to talk to her, but she knew. A lot had changed in the past three weeks. It had been two weeks since she had officially quit the glee club and she had been rehearsing with Shelby every day since then.

"Mercedes don't act like you don't know. What's going on with you?" The coldness was gone and now his voice overflowed with concern.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said as she avoided eye contact. If there was anyone who could read her it was Puck.

"Don't tell me 'nothing is wrong.'" He spoke as he scooted closer to her bed. "First, you blow up at Mr. Shue, you quit glee club, and now you're working with Shelby. I haven't talked to you in three weeks. A lot has been going on and my best friend has practically been M.I.A. even though I see you every day. You've been distant…I look at you and I see you, but the way you walk, talk, act, sound… it's not Mercedes Jones," he said placing his hand on her thigh, "not the Mercedes Jones I know."

Mercedes, still avoiding eye contact, contemplated what he said. She wanted to yell at him, tell him he didn't know what he was talking about, that she was perfectly fine. She wanted to tell him that she was too good for the glee club, that the club wasn't letting her grow in the ways she needed to become a star. She wanted to push him away and tell him that the girl he was sitting next to was the new and improved Miss Jones – the one who got the recognition she deserved and was never forced to take the back seat… But this was Noah Puckerman; her best friend—the only person who had stuck with her through everything. He called her out on her crap, comforted her in her failures, and celebrated her achievements. When Quinn was living with her, Puck came over a lot and when Quinn would fall asleep they would stay up, just talking. Mercedes thought it would be awkward due to the fact that she had dumped him, but it seemed to just make him respect her. They talked about the whole baby situation, about life, football, singing, pretty much anything. Then when Quinn moved out after she had the Beth, she thought Puck would be gone too, but he still always came around. She had helped him work through the fact that he gave up his daughter and made sure he didn't go too crazy.

They hung out on a weekly basis and just enjoyed a relationship that wasn't complicated. When school started again last year and Quinn stopped talking to Mercedes, Puck was there. He let her sob about her girl problems, always reassuring her. He was one of the few people had known about her and Sam and when Sam kissed her goodbye for the last time, Puck was over within twenty minutes with her favorite ice cream and a copy of _Dirty Dancing_. She allowed him to cry on her shoulder when the pain of missing Beth was just too much at times. At school they didn't interact much, but they always knew that the other was around and could count on each other. Puck had even taken a few slushies for her and then gave Amizo a black eye for payback.

Mercedes had actually caught Lauren cheating on Puck with one of the hockey players. She then threatened her within of inch of her life and then told her she needed to end it with Puck. Lauren sobbed about it being a mistake and that it would never happen again and Mercedes saw right through her. Lauren then admitted that it had happened multiple times and that she didn't care about what Mercedes said, she was keeping Puckerman as her boy toy. Lauren then tried to overpower her, saying that Mercedes couldn't do anything. A kidney shot and a right hook to the face changed that opinion. Lauren agreed to end it with Puck and the next day, Mercedes watched from around the corner as Lauren told Puck some excuse about him not being cool enough. Mercedes felt guilty when he saw the hurt in his eyes. She had avoided him the rest of the day; she felt bad about being the reason he was so upset. But Puck called her later on that night and told her to come over to his house. When she entered his room, she pressed herself against his wall. She had seen him upset, but never so angry. She watched as he paced around his room, breaking things, throwing objects across the room.

"_What did I do wrong? The fact that I'm not cool anymore shouldn't have mattered. I LOVED HER!" Taking a photograph of the two of them he flung it against his wall, the sound of the glass shattering echoed in Mercedes room. He continued to shout, crying out obscenities at the top of his voice. Mercedes watch as he tormented himself of thoughts of why he wasn't good enough. _

"_WHY CAN I NEVER DO ANYTHING RIGHT?" She couldn't take him tearing himself apart and spoke up. _

"_Puck, I made her break up with you," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. He stopped moving and turned to her, rage still flickering in her eyes. _

"_Why would you do that? Do you not what to see me happy?"_

"_I do." He took a few steps closer to her. His closing proximity made her nervous and she wished that the wall behind her would swallow her. But it refused, no matter how much she tried pressing herself against it. When he was a few steps away, he spoke. _

"_Then why did you tell her to," he said gritting through his teeth. _

"_I caught her cheating on you," Mercedes said so fast, it sounded like one word. She watched as his demeanor began to soften and decided it was safe to continue. "I couldn't let her hurt you anymore and I figured it was better for her to just break up with you than you find out later on." He paused and stared into her eyes. He looked like he was searching for the truth and eventually he took a deep breath in and took a few steps away from he, realizing that what Mercedes had said was in fact the true._

"_How did you know she was cheating?"_

"_I caught her and then she eventually came out and told me."_

"_Huh…" he said as she watched him sit down on his bed. He sat down for a moment staring at his floor and the he began to laugh. Mercedes relaxed her shoulders and stopped trying to press herself into the wall. _

"_What's so funny?"_

"_She was the only girl that I remained faithful to longer than a week and she cheated on me." Mercedes noted the sadness in his voice, but by his body language she could tell that he was going to be alright. _

"_Just to let you know, I gave her the one-two to her face. She'll definitely have a nasty bruise. She didn't know I had been trained by the great Noah Puckerman." She took a seat next to him on the bed. He looked over at Mercedes and smiled. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. _

"_That's my girl." _

Puck's hand squeezed her thigh, bringing her back to the situation at hand.

"Sometimes people change," she uttered.

"Not the way you have. I understand about you being fed up. Sometimes I want to punch Rachel in the face, but you know you went about this the wrong way." Mercedes could feel his eyes on her and she stood up and turned her back to Puck to escape his lingering gaze.

"I did what I had to do," trying to remain standing tall and with pride in her voice.

"No Mercedes, you yelled and screamed and acted like a child. You were just making up excuses." She cringed at his word and wrapped her arms around herself. Puck had always been blunt, just sometimes she didn't want to hear it. She turned to face him, defiance in her stance.

"Do you think I wanted to leave you guys? I just wanted to win, to be noticed for my talent and not just for a day, this time. There have been so many times that I have been proven better and then the next day it's like everyone caught amnesia and forgot. Kurt's forgotten me, Quinn's forgotten me, I wouldn't be surprised if Sam doesn't even recognize my name anymore." She stared into Puck's eyes as she poured out her feelings. "Puck, I'm tired of settling for being mediocre, for being forgotten – when I should be the one remembered. " When Puck didn't say anything, Mercedes turned back around and hugged herself tighter, as she felt the tears fall down her face. She tried to get her body to stop shaking, so that Puck wouldn't know she was crying. She was getting ready to tell him to get out but then she felt his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

"I will never forget you." Mercedes cried harder into his chest, at what he said. For some reason those were the words she needed to hear. Puck held Mercedes as she quietly sobbed, never loosening his grip – if anything he held her tighter.

After a while she looked at the clock and noticed it was 2 A.M.

"It's late," she whispered into the spot where she could feel his heartbeat.

"I know, I probably should get going," he said, but didn't actually move. Mercedes took it as a sign that he wanted to stay as much as she wanted him to.

"You can stay here if you want."

"I'll be here for you whenever you need me." Mercedes walked over to her closet and pulled out and old shirt and a pair of her brother's pj pants that she stole from him. She tossed them over to Puck and climbed into her bed as she waited for him to change. She heard his clothes drop to the ground and a few moments later she heard him sigh, signaling that he was finished. She turned around to see him tugging at the shirt he was wearing.

"You didn't watch me undress did you?" he said with an eyebrow raise. Mercedes felt her cheeks flush and her mouth gapped open.

"For your information no I didn't, my back was to you….and no I didn't want to see you." Puck faked being offended then proceeded to do a body roll,

"You know you want to see this sexy body."

"Puh-lease," Mercedes said with a smile.

"Well, I guess this is goodnight," Puck said as he grabbed a pillow off her bed and tossed it on her floor.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor." Puck wiggled his eyebrows and proceeded to try and climb into Mercedes bed. She pushed him out as quickly as he got in.

"There's a mattress under my bed, you perve!" Puck gave a mischievous smile and lifted up her bed skirt and pulled out the trundle bed. Mercedes watched as he raised it off the ground and then climb in. She scooted to the side of bed farthest away from him. She didn't really know why, but it seemed like the right thing to do. With a yawn she realized how tired she was.

"Goodnight Puck," she said as she turned off her light.

"Goodnight Mercy." Mercedes closed her eyes and waited a few moments to let the wave of sleep come over her. When it didn't come she realized it was because she needed to tell Puck something.

"Oh and Puck…"

"Yeah," he said with a yawn.

"Thank you… for everything."

"I always got your back, remember that."

"I will," Mercedes said with a sigh. She listened as Puck's breath evened out and soon after she fell asleep.

Mercedes' phone alarm woke her up at 6 o'clock and when she opened her eyes she realized that she had migrated all the way over back to the side of the bed closet to Puck. She noted that Puck was also on the side of his bed closest to her. She figured she shouldn't make a big deal out it, no need to make it something it's not. She watched him sleep for another minute, giggling at the snores escaping his body. Her snooze alarm went off and she decided to wake him up before they got caught.

"Puck," she whispered. He stirred a little bit, but remained asleep.

"Puck," she spoke up a little louder. He turned stirred more and proceeded to turn his back to her.

"PUCK!" she screamed as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him off his bed. He flailed onto the floor with a yelp.

"Mercedes, what the –"

"You wouldn't wake up! You need to get out of here before my dad finds you…or worse my mom." Puck shuddered at the thought. He pulled himself off the floor and climbed on top of the Mercedes bed, pulling her into his arms.

" But can't we just stay here, I stay in your bed we just snuggle all day?" he groaned. Mercedes gave a playful laugh as she pushed herself away from him.

"Alright, what have you done with Puck?" Puck looked at he like she was crazy and then realized what he had said,

"Oh crap, I sound like a chic; must be these purple sheets!" He shook his body out of them and quickly hopped up and searched for his clothes.

"Plus you have morning breath," Mercedes said as she watched get ready to put the trundle bed back,

"And I have a boyfriend. " Puck stopped moving and Mercedes observed the twinge of pain that flashed across his face. But as quick it was there, it was gone and he continued putting the bed back.

"Is this going to make things weird with you and Shane?"

"Is what?"

"Me spending the night."

"I don't think so. I mean he knows we're close and we are just friends." Mercedes watched as Puck's face showed pain again and Mercedes, again, decided against saying anything. But it did make her think. _What made Puck so mad about being friends?_

"Right," was all he said – no coldness, no warmth, no nothing; there was no emotion in his voice. Mercedes felt some curiosity and almost asked the question in her mind, but their relationship was supposed to be uncomplicated and the question might complicate things.

"Well I think all evidence of me is gone, I guess I'll be heading out," and just like that Puck was back. She walked over to him and he pulled her into a hug. After a moment she pulled back and went to unlock her window.

"Just to let you know Puck, I'm not coming back."

"I get it Mercy, just don't leave me behind." He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead and pushed the window open. She watched as Puck climbed out of her window and down the side of her house. She had no idea how he could escape her 2nd floor bedroom but he seemed like he was pro. She continued to watch him through her window as he ran behind her bushes, walked across the street to where his truck was park. She saw his brake lights come on and waited until she couldn't see him anymore.

She walked over to her desk and sat down to print a last minute assignment off her computer. While she waited for the pages to print she looked at the various frames on her desk. She picked up the picture of Shane and her on their most recent date. It was a cute picture, them sitting in the park, smiling. He had taken on a standard date – Breadstix, movie, park and they had a good time as always. She looked at her smile and felt like something was different about it, but thought it was her imagination.

She put the photo back down, trading it for the picture of her and Puck. It was a candid one that Tina had taken in glee club last year. She and Puck had been paired up to dance for a number they were thinking about doing at regionals last year. They were in the middle of a waltz style dance when Mr. Shue told them to stop, but stay in their position so he could make sure they were correct. Mercedes and Puck were one of the last groups to be checked and Mercedes was beginning to get frustrated. While standing there Puck made a goofy face, trying to imitate Finn gassy baby look and Mercedes lost it. Puck started laughing at her laughing and that's when Tina took the picture. This picture was their relationship, so close and so carefree. She observed it closely and saw the look in his eyes. Though he was laughing he was looking right at her. She thought she could see the shimmer coming from them. She turned her attention to herself and looked at the smile on her face and for some reason this one looked right. She kept looking at the photo, bouncing between her face and his, practically memorizing it, until her alarm officially went off at seven, and the entire time one thought occupied her mind.

_We're just friends…right?_

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><p><strong>AN: I do not own glee or whatever I'm suppose to say so I don't get sued. Also for right now this is a one shot. I know I felt out some details and it's kind of a cliff hanger, but I don't want to say I'll complete this and not. So just fill in the ending yourself!<strong>

**I'd like to thank Bana05 for the motivation to write a Puckcedes story! **

**I hope you enjoyed it :) I would greatly appreciate it if you reviewed! **


	2. Chapter 2

__**AN: So I decided to continue this story! I hope you enjoy! **

**PS: I don't own glee**

* * *

><p><em>One month later, the Tuesday before Sectionals<em>

"Stop, stop, stop!" Shelby barked from the front of the middle of the auditorium. Mercedes used all the self-control she had to not roll her eyes and not throw her mic stand on the ground. This was the third time she had stopped Mercedes in the middle of her performance. She left out a small sigh of exhaustion, along with the members that were rehearsing the choreography. Keeping control on her emotions, Mercedes asked,

"What's wrong now?" She watched as Shelby wiped her brow and threw her hands up in frustration.

"Guys, why don't we just go home for the day?" Everyone shrugged their shoulders and then nodded in agreement. Mercedes and the other 11 members of the club turned to get their things from back stage when Shelby called out,

"Mercedes, can I talk to you for a second." Mercedes felt her body tense. Rory, the new exchanged student from Ireland and one of her new favorites, gave Mercedes a smile of encouragement and a shoulder squeeze.

"Good luck," he said with the accent that usually cheered Mercedes up. She gave him a small smile back and turned to walk to where Shelby was sitting. She didn't know what Shelby was going to tell her but she felt like it wasn't going to be good. _Do I sound bad? Am I flat? Am I not singing the solo anymore?_ Shelby gestured for her to take a seat on the stage next to her. Mercedes lowered herself down, making sure not to look Shelby's way. Mercedes liked constructive criticism but if it was too harsh or too much, she was sure she was going to fall apart. If Shelby was going to rip her apart, she didn't want her to see her cry. Shelby placed her hand on Mercedes thigh and Mercedes tried not to jump.

"Mercedes, look at me." Mercedes resisted, but her mother always taught her to respect authority and so Mercedes did what she told her.

"You're doing a fantastic job," was the next thing she said. That surprised Mercedes. She expected to be torn apart; this was Shelby Cochran, the Sue Sylvester of glee clubs. No compliments, no praises, just work. Mercedes' mouth gaped open slightly and her body started to relax.

"You have taken this song and made it your own. You have amazing rifts and give the right pitch to create the perfect harmonies. I know that you are the right girl to sing this song, but I need you to take it up to a whole other level." Mercedes understood what she was saying. They needed to win sectionals and Mercedes needed to give it her best.

"I'm trying. I'm giving it all that I got. I promise."

"I can tell you are giving one hundred and ten percent, but it's not about trying harder. I need you to reach down inside yourself and find the meaning behind this song." Shelby jumped up, throwing her hands up in the process,

"You need to find you're inspiration! The reason you sing!" Mercedes contemplated what she was saying.

"But I sing for myself. I shouldn't have to sing for anybody else." Shelby brought her hands to her face and stood silent for a moment.

"Think about it this way. Your voice is a gift and when you're singing this song you have to discover who you want to give this gift to. No matter if the person accepts it or denies it, you give this gift with all you got and you know that you laid your soul on the line for them….Does that make sense?" Mercedes inhaled and nodded her head. Shelby leaned over and gave her a hug,

"Sectionals are in a few days and we have a good shot at winning, but if you find who you're singing to, we'll win no doubt. Go home, get some rest and think about it." Mercedes got back on stage and went back to grab her book bag. She pulled her keys out of the front pocket and began the journey to the parking lot. She exited McKinley high racking her brain for who should be the reason that she was singing. The obvious choice was Shane, he _was _her boyfriend, but for some reason it didn't seem to fit. _Maybe if I practiced singing to him…_The cold November wind whipped across her face, erasing her mind of any singing thoughts and she tighten her scarf and picked up her pace to her car. She kept her head down, trying to minimize the chill that was hitting her face. She caught the sight of her car out of her peripheral vision and quickly looked up to get ready to unlock her car, when she saw Noah Puckerman leaning against her car. She quickly hit the unlock button,

"Hurry up and get in the car before you freeze." Mercedes said as she walked around the driver side of the car. She went to open her door, when Puck's hand jumped in the front of hers and opened it. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she was too cold to care. She quickly jumped in her seat and started the engine, trying to get her car to warm up. She watched as Puck ran in front of the hood of her car and opened the passenger door.

"Close the door before you let all the hot air out!" Mercedes urged. Puck laughed as he closed the door.

"Mercedes, you have lived in Lima your whole life, you're being ridiculous."

"It doesn't matter where you live, cold is cold," she said as her teeth shuttered. She placed her hands in front of the vents, willing warm air to come out.

"I can't see how you're not blue. Why were you sitting outside of my car?"

"I figured you didn't remember," he said with a smile.

"Uhhh, remember what?" Mercedes asked.

"It's Tuesday." Mercedes grunted in frustration. How could she have forgotten it was Tuesday? It was when they had their weekly best friend date.

"Crap! I'm so sorry, it's just things we're a little stressful. How long were you sitting outside for?"

"Since school got out."

"That was an hour ago!" she said as she smacked his arm, "Why didn't you go sit inside and wait?"

"Because I saw how frazzled you looked in math and I figured you forgot that we were supposed to meet today and if you happened to might miss me when you left wherever you left from, whenever you left from it then I was going to miss out on time with my best friend." He gave her a genuine smile and then went to adjust his air vents to face her. Mercedes felt her body get warm, but she couldn't tell if it was from the heater kicking on or Puck. When he did things like pay close enough attention to know her mind was running a thousand miles an hour or that he would wait an hour for her, it made her feel special and reminded her that Noah Puckerman followed through on his promise to remember her.

"Shelby called an emergency practice today. She felt like something was off at yesterday's practice and she wanted to use this one to figure out what it was." Mercedes decided that her fingers had defrosted and that it was time to leave the school parking lot. She pulled the shifter into reverse and backed her car out her spot.

"Was she able to figure it out?"

"Yeah, everything worked out fine. I just need to think about some stuff."

"Maybe I could help?" Mercedes glanced in his direction and thought about telling him that about her whole "gift" situation, but she refrained. The answer _was_ Shane. He was her boyfriend, the only person who _should_ deserve the "gift".

"Nah, it's okay. Don't want to give you guys any of our secrets," she joked.

"Alright, I just don't want to see you too stressed."

"Aww Puck, you're getting soft on me. What happened to 'I'm a badass and I don't have feelings'," Puck just shrugged his shoulders and turned his head to face the window. _Why is he acting so weird?_

"Well since I forgot that we were supposed to have our date today, you get to pick the location and I'll pay."

"Mercedes, we've been doing these dates for over half a year now and every time you try to pay and every time it doesn't work!"

"Well it will this time! You watch!"

"I'll watch you fail!"

Mercedes gave him a light punch on arm, "Just pick where we're going."

"Well are you hungry for dinner or do you want a snack?"

"Whatever."

"Dinner it is then….Tijuana Flats?"

"That's the second time in the past month…you know, for a Jew, you really like your Mexican."

"What can I say, I like Tacos." Mercedes gave him a questioned look; Puck made eye contact then raised his eyebrows.

"JEEZ, you're perverted!" she shuddered. She made a right at the light they had been sitting at and a few moments later they were in the parking lot.

"Wow, we got here fast."

"I already knew this was going to be the place you were going to pick so I already was heading in this direction."

"You lie! There was no way you could have known."

"Noah… We've been close friends for almost two years now. I know you. Trust."

"Prove it."

"I can't. I just do," she said with a shrug of her shoulders and a sly smile.

"Well let's get out of the car and get some food."

Mercedes zipped up her coat and rewrapped her scarf in preparation for the venture outside of the car.

"Mercedes, it's not even 100 feet away," Puck said, standing outside of her door, waiting to open it.

"Well I don't want to be cold the entire way!"

"Get out of the car!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Woman!" Mercedes sat their frozen, eyes glaring at him, and then Puck smiled and they both burst into laughter.

"Boy, you are crazy! Let's go." Puck opened the door for and Mercedes climbed out of her car. She locked the door and turned around to head to the restaurant when Puck appeared by her side and put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close.

"Don't want you to freeze," he mentioned. They walked into the restaurant in silence, not leaving each other's embrace until they reached the register.

"Can I help you?" said a boy at the register.

"Umm I'm going to have to do the Taco Tuesday."

"What type of shell and meat?"

"Hard and beef."

"Drink?"

"Mr. Pibb."

"And you sir?"

"Same."

"Name?"

"Mercedes," Puck spoke. She wondered if he realized that them calling out her name was her favorite thing. When she was younger she used to insist on restaurant reservations be under her name instead of Jones.

"Alright, the total is $13.58." Mercedes shoved her card into the cashier's hand,

"Whatever you do, do not let that boy pay." The boy just nodded his head and gently laid the card on the register, then went to go get their drinks. Puck handed her the cups and signaled for her to go get a table, while he waited for her receipt. Mercedes made eye contact with the boy behind the register and shot him a glare as a reminder for her to pay. She then took a seat at one of the high tables, placing Puck's drink at the seat across from her. Puck came behind her and pulled her wallet out her purse. She observed him as he put the card in the correct spot and the receipt in the pocket behind her cards. _We spend too much time together_, she giggled to herself. Puck took the seat across her and sat for a moment.

"So are you ready for Monday's math test?"

"I'm not really thinking about it, due to the fact that sectionals are on Saturday. I'm so nervous. I keep thinking, what if we lose, what's going to happen? This is my senior year, I need to make it." Puck reached his hand across the table and placed it on top of hers,

"Mercedes, no matter what happens, you'll make it. It may not be for some glee club competition, but you're going to leave this dump and become a star." Mercedes felt that warm feeling again and her hand was tickling.

"Puckerman! Get your hands off my woman." Mercedes turned in and stared in horror as Shane stood in front of the entrance, beginning to make a scene. She felt Puck's hand leave hers and she felt a sudden coldness. She snapped from her gaze,

"Shane, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"You know me and Puck hang out every Tuesday."

"Yeah, well I don't like it. You're leaving."

"We have been doing this since before you were even in the picture. You can't make me leave."

"Well I'm in the picture now and I'm saying we're going."

"You can't tell her what to do," growled Puck. Shane made his way over to the table and Puck stepped down from his chair, blocking Shane's view of Mercedes. Mercedes tried to get in between the boys, but Shane was already in his face by the time she stepped down.

"What'd you say?"

"Shane, come on. We can talk about this later. You're causing a scene," Mercedes said as she glanced around the room and saw people staring.

"No Mercedes, this punk wants to talk like he's a man, then he can get beat like a man. He needs to learn to keep his hands off of what's not his." Mercedes wanted to slap him for trying to make her _his _property, but she wanted to have everyone leave here without any fresh bruises. Mercedes turned to face Puck and with a pleading look she whispered, "Please. Don't."

Puck glanced down at her, his jaw tensed. He gave her a small nod. She turned to face Shane again,

"I drove Puck here; I need to take him home."

"Don't worry about it Mercy, I'll walk."

"Puck, its freezing outside."

"I'll be fine; I'll text you to let you know I got home okay." And with that he left. She wanted to smile, because by offering to text her, it again he showed how well he knew her. The mama bear in her would have wanted to know. But she had to deal with Shane now, who was grabbing her arm.

"Let go of me," she said with a smack of his arm, "What the hell was that about?"

He released his hold, but glared down at her, "I don't like how close you and Puckerman are"

"And I don't like how possessive you are." She raised a hand to him to get him to stop saying whatever he was about to say, "I don't even want to hear it. You've embarrassed me, beyond belief today and I need to evaluate our relationship. Just go home, I'll call you whenever." Shane looked at her, words on the tip of his tongue. She glared at him one more time,

"Go." He huffed, turned and exited the building. Mercedes exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding and turned to sit back down at her table, avoiding looking at the customers who were probably staring at her. One of the waitresses came out and carried her food out to her. The girl went to set it down.

"I've lost my appetite. Just give the food to someone else." The waitress gave her a quizzical look and turned around to ask the people in line if they wanted the food. Mercedes decided to leave a tip on the table to make up for the major disturbance that had just occurred. She pulled her wallet out of her purse and noticed a piece of receipt sticking out. The top said Tijuana Flats but when she looked at the rest, she saw that it was blank, besides a scribbled note.

_Remember, I always win._

_ ~Puck_

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><p><strong>AN: Well I hope you enjoyed! It'll be update within the week! Promise! If you can ban me from fanfiction :) Anyways- Review please! <strong>_  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: This chapter is rated M for language. I was in a feisty mood when I wrote this. I hope you enjoy :) **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own glee**_

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><p><em>The next morning (Wednesday before Sectionals)<em>

The football team had just gotten done with their morning weight lifting regiment and even though it was before school started, Puck usually was cracking jokes with the guys in glee club, but not today. Artie watched as one of his best bros walked stoically into the locker room, showing anger in his eyes. Though Puck and Artie were tight, when Puck looked pissed, Artie usually stayed away. But there was something sad about him. A shadow then over took Artie's vision and he watched stunned as Shane approached Puck.

"Puckerman. I want to finish that talk we started, since Mercedes ain't around to protect you." Puck continued to place his things in his locker.

"I'm talking to you, squirrelly," he said with a push of Puck's shoulder.

"Don't touch me," Puck gritted. Shane uttered an arrogant cough and got up in his face,

"Does it bother you that I get to be with her? That I get to touch her in all the places she likes? That the little slut is screaming _my _name over and over again."

"Shut the fuck up Tinsley," Puck uttered through clinched teeth, and closed fist.

"And what are you going to do about? You think your scrawny ass is really going to fight me over that stupid cunt," and with that statement, Artie watched in awe as Noah Puckerman grabbed Shane Tinsley, the bulldozer from hell, and pushed him up against the lockers with his forearm against his throat. Artie had no idea where he pulled that strength from, but he and the 13 other boys in the locker room watched in silence.

"Don't you ever say anything like that about her ever again. I don't know why someone as amazing as Mercedes would want to be with you, but she is and you're going to treat her right," he said with a slight thrust of the arm that was pressed against his throat, "and if I ever see you lay another hand on her in anger I will crush your windpipes. Do you understand?"

Shane choked out a small yes, terrified that anything more would cause Puck to stop his breathing. Puck released the boy who fell to the ground and didn't even pay attention as Shane scurried along the ground. A few of the offensive linemen followed after Shane to make sure he was okay; they knew retaliation was not an option right now. Puck went back to filling his locker, anger stilled lined his face. Artie cautiously rolled up to him,

"Hey man, you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You sure? Cause you almost killing Tinsley didn't look like fine."

Finn had seen the interaction between Shane and him and grabbed the attention of Mike, Blaine (who was just there to train), and Kurt (who decided to give another shot a kicking); he signaled for them to walk over to were Artie and Puck were.

"Yeah man, what's going on," asked Finn as their group closed in.

Puck glared in response, "nothing, it's early and I'm fucking tired and not in the mood to deal with anymore bullshit so will you leave me alone."

"Noah, sectionals are in a few days and we don't need you to being testy with us or getting suspended for fighting," said Kurt with a judgmental eye brow raise. Puck exhaled with a small chuckle and shrug of his shoulder.

"You guys are complaining about me fighting and being _testy_. Did you not just hear him call Mercedes a cunt? A slut? You should have been there, next to me, backing me up but no. You guys are just punks."

"What could we have done, honestly" asked Artie.

"Anything, besides twirling your thumbs like jackasses. That shit that you just pulled is exactly why were in this situation in the first place. If you would have actually done something maybe Mercedes would still be in New Directions and we could have stopped her from being with that knuckle dragger. "

"Puck, Mercedes chose to-"

"Don't you dare say that Mercedes _chose_ to leave Finn. It wasn't like we gave her much of an option! She has been there for all of us and we just walked on her like she was nothing, pushing her into the arms of that space waster Shane, who was filling her head with lies, which she had no choice to believe."

"Like what?" asked Mike.

"That we don't need her, that we don't love her, we don't want her. That she's nothing to us. And the only reason she believed them was because we didn't give her reason not to. Finn, you laughed at her when she got sick at booty camp and every time Barbra-big-nose opens her mouth you immediately agree with her. You too busy with your head up her ass that all you can smell is her bullshit. She's just using you until she gets out of here." Finn lowered his eyes in shame at that ugly truth.

"Artie, you were too concerned about getting back in Brittney's pants to back her up on her song ideas. You are probably the best male lead that works with her and every time she suggested a duet with you, you just brushed her off, like she was _nothing_ to you. Vocally, she counted on you, and you let her down for a piece of ass that doesn't even want you anymore. " Artie wanted to melt into his wheelchair to avoid the guilt he was feeling.

"Mike. I know you had the best intentions but you basically informed her of all the wrong she was doing, never the good. She worked her ass of in booty camp…literally. She had already lost at least 10 pounds since starting. She had been practicing at home, skipping meals to try and make it on time. But you couldn't see that." Mike couldn't even look at Puck while he spoke, Mike knew he was wrong, but no one had called him out on it.

"And Kurt, please tell me the last time you've talked to Mercedes and don't even try to lie because I know… You haven't spoken to her since the day after you got back..._last year_; you've been so taken back with your boyfriend, no offense Blaine- you're new so you really couldn't have done anything. But Kurt you were her best friend, the one who was supposed to be there to support her and yet you let her down again and again. You didn't see that after you left she would randomly burst into tears because being at McKinley without you was something she never thought she would have to experience…. You know, I was there when your dad called her and told her that you were coming back. She cried tears of joys, jumped on her bed, and hugged me telling me that her best friend was coming back. She told me that she knew it had been rough while you were away but she had a gut feeling that your guys' friendship would go back to normal. And then she immediately planned your "Welcome Back" Party and you didn't even wink at her and I held her as she cried over you every afternoon for a week straight, telling her that you hadn't forgotten her." Kurt's eyes began to water and he reached for Blaine's hand in comfort but Blaine didn't offer it. He stood arms folded, because even though Puck hadn't reamed him out he knew he hadn't helped the situation.

"I'm not saying that the way she left was the best but she had a point. And I'm not saying I was perfect either, but can you guys please look at yourselves and see that Mercedes wasn't crazy for quitting, we gave her all the reasons to and we're just half the group. If it wasn't for the fact that I might choke Berry and punch Santana in her demon ovaries I'd be screaming at the girls to. We all know that she is meant to be a star and we did everything to shut her down. We are men. We're supposed to be leaders, someone for these girls to depend on and we let one of the most precious, selfless girls out of the group down," and with that Puck slammed his locker and left the locker room, heading to anywhere but his first class.

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><p>Shane stumbled out of the locker room in search of something to be angry at. How could Puckerman think he could treat him like that…and over Mercedes Jones? It only confirmed what he had suspected; Noah Puckerman had the hots for his girl. If it wasn't for the fact that he was almost killed he would've have turned around and laid the punk out, but there would be time for that later; Right now, he decided it was time to have a little talk with <em>his <em>girlfriend. He turned the corner and saw her staring in her locker. He came up and slammed the door.

"Shane, what the hell?"

"So you're really messing around with him aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Puckerman and you, something's going on."

"Okay, you're really just embarrassing yourself. Yesterday you come in and make a scene and now people are looking at us now. You need to calm it the hell down." Shane punched the locker next to hers, leaving a visible dent in it.

"Don't tell me to calm down! You're little fuck buddy almost killed me in the locker room!"

"HE'S NOT MY- wait, what did you just say?" Mercedes face going from furious to confused over the span of a few seconds.

"Puckerman just came out and attacked me in the locker room."

Mercedes shook her head, "There must have been a reason."

"Yeah, you! I was just talking to some of the guys about a date me and you went on last weekend and he pushed me against the lockers and was threatening to choke me. Now why would he do that unless you're telling him to do some shit to scare me away?" Mercedes searched his face for signs of a lie. Noah had a temper, but there was no way he would just attack somebody.

"Are you sure it was for no reason and not the fact that you were screaming at us yesterday?"

"No babe, he just came out and attacked me."

"If what you're telling me is true I'll have to rethink my friendship with him."

"Well it is." The bell rang and Mercedes turned to go to class, but Shane stopped her.

"Kiss before you go?"

"No. I'm still pissed about yesterday, I still need time. I'm going to be late, I'll talk to you later." Mercedes walked away, with no intention of going to class.

The late bell rang and Mercedes continued to wander the halls. She had almost given up when she caught sight of Puck turning the corner, walking towards the auditorium. She picked up her pace and caught him right as he walked through the doors.

"Hey Mercedes," he said with a sad look. Mercedes read the look as guilt and immediately became infuriated. He had done something.

"I told you to let it go Noah." He seemed shocked by her rage, but confused at the same time.

"Mercedes, I can't just let that shit go!"

"You almost killed him! You needed to let it go!"

"Mercedes-"

"Puck, I don't care what happened, but you need to stop," she snapped. Puck's face flushed with hurt and Mercedes wanted to take back how she just talked to him. So much anger in her voice and he didn't deserve it. She reached out to him and he pulled away.

"Noah-"

"I'm stopping," was all he said as he walked away. Mercedes stood there for a few minutes before she felt the lone tear roll down her cheek. Noah Puckerman was her best friend and she just yelled at him with no proof. She walked out of the auditorium, not really knowing where she was heading. She should have went to go find him, but she assumed that he was pissed at her and that she would never want to see her again.

She walked by the choir room when she heard someone call her name from inside the room. She stopped at the door way, staring Finn down as he jogged towards the door.

"Can you come in here for a moment?"

"I'm really not in the mood."

"Please. I just need to talk to you." Mercedes had already denied one person her time today and she felt horrible for it, so she decided to just follow the boy inside.

"Actually we all want to talk to you," Artie said as he rolled in. Mercedes took a seat as Blaine, Mike, Kurt, Finn, and Artie made a half circle around her.

"We just want to say sorry," Mike spoke. Mercedes looked at the boys, with an eye brow raise.

"For what," trying to quickly build up walls to keep them out.

"Mercedes, you have always been there for us and we weren't there for you," Artie said as he rolled forward putting his hand on hers. "After Brittney broke up with me, you came over and played video games with me and then hooked me up with your banging cousin."

"She still asks about you, you know?"

"It's the sweaters. Always brings in the ladies." He sent her a smile, which she did not return, but she didn't feel so cold towards them.

"When I couldn't do my pre-algebra homework you stayed after a tutor me and all the support with the Quinn thing, you were there," Finn gave a half smile.

"You listened to me and Tina complain all the time, but you just listened. Didn't pick a side, didn't offer advice, except 'you guy's love each other, figure it out.' And that little reminder got us through our biggest fights."

"You were there for Kurt before I could be. You were the first person he told about his sexuality, the first person he could be himself around and without that he wouldn't be the man I love."

Mercedes felt herself tearing up, trying to fight back the breakdown she was going to have as Kurt took the seat next to her with watery eyes.

"Mercedes Jones, you are my best friend. I don't know how I could've let you feel like I don't care about you, but you are the only person who has been there for me all the way through. You never made me feel threated…well except for the time that you busted my window. I'm sorry I've been distant, I've sorry I've been a terrible friend , and if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I have a copy of The Sound of Music, along with a pizza with our names on it." Mercedes was now bawling as her best friend pulled her into a hug and soon after the rest of the guys came around her enveloping her. They pulled away and she wiped her eyes.

"So you forgive us?" Mike asked with a hopeful grin.

"Of course… but that doesn't mean I'm coming back and I'm not going to go easy on you guys at sectionals."

"We know and we're not expecting you to," Kurt said as he smiled at her.

"Then why are you guys doing this?" she said slightly surprised. Even though she genuinely forgave them, she believed that they might have had ulterior motives.

"Well someone opened our eyes and we needed to do the right thing," Finn shrugged.

"Who," she asked even though she knew the answer.

"Puck," said Blaine.

"When," she wondered.

"This morning in the locker room after he pinned Shane to a locker," muttered Artie.

"I still can't believe he did that."

"I can," scoffed Blaine, "If he had said those thing about Kurt, I would have killed him.

"It was over a date, what could've been so bad."

"Mercedes, are you serious? You think it was over a date," questioned Finn.

"That's what Shane told me." Mercedes rolled her eyes at herself. She knew she shouldn't have believed him.

"Sweetheart, he said some not-so-nice things," said Kurt as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Can someone just tell me what happened? "

"Shane got in his face and pushed him, but Puck didn't do anything until…" Kurt began.

"Until what?"

"He called you a slut and a cunt," he rushed.

"OH HELL TO THE NO!" and with that Mercedes was out the door. She heard the boys calling after her, but she did not care. She headed towards Shane's second period class, history, which was two hallways away, fuming. She checked her watch and decided to wait for the bell to ring. Tapping her foot, she rehearsed what she was going to say, but she was so angry that the words weren't forming sentences in her mind and decided to wing it. The bell rang and she got ready.

Strolling out of the class last, with the cockiest look on his face, Shane looked surprised to see her, but still leaned down to give Mercedes a hug,

"Hey babe-"

Mercedes pushed him back and he stumbled due to the fact that he was caught off guard.

"What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong," she said with a raised voice.

"Lower your tone," he said through clenched teeth. A crowd began to crowd the hallways around them.

"You've caused two scenes, it's my turn now. You call me a cunt and a slut and then lie to my face about it!"

"What are you-"

"And now you're trying to lie again. I've had 5 people tell me the same story. I'm not a cunt and you couldn't get this if you begged!" She paused for a moment and waited for an excuse. Nothing came out of his mouth.

"Me and you? Yeah, we're through! Delete my number, forget where I live, you're nothing but shit to me." With that last statement she saw anger flood his face.

"Bitch it's not over till I say it's over." Shane went to reach for her arm, when he stopped short. He looked like he was in a fight with himself, to touch or not to. He decided to put his hand down.

"You know what, I don't need you anyways," and walked away. Mercedes let out the breath that she had been holding and the crowd that had formed began to break apart. The late bell rang and Mercedes decided that third period wasn't as important as finding Puck. She walked out to the bleachers and saw the Mohawk she was looking for. She climbed to the top and sat next to the brown eyed boy as he leaned against the row of bleachers behind him.

"I've been looking for you," she said staring at the empty football field.

"I've been here."

"I figured." They sat in awkward silence. Mercedes wanted nothing more than for him to look at her, to give her a reassuring pat on the leg to let her know that he wasn't mad, but she got nothing.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he said with that cold tone that went straight to her soul. She knew she had screwed up, but she didn't know how to fix it, so she started with a muttered, "Thank you.

All the boys in glee came up to apologize to me." She got no reaction from him, but continued to talk. "I also broke up with Shane." Puck turned to his faced laced with anger.

"Why'd you do that? I thought he didn't do anything." Mercedes cringed at his words and took a deep breathe.

"You know why." Mercedes watched as Puck's face turned back to the field.

"I'm sorry…for not listening. I was just fed up and I shouldn't have taken it out on you." She placed a hand on his thigh, "Please look at me." She watched his face as he contemplated her request, but eventually gave to it.

"Noah you are my best friend and have been there for me more than anyone. I can't believe how I treated you after all the wonderful things you've done for me," her voice chocked through the apology. She felt the tears rushing and she wanted them to stop, but thinking about how terrible she was, even though it was only for a few moments, made her realize how much she didn't deserve him.

"Don't cry. I can't handle it when you cry," he whispered brushing a tear from her face.

"I'm sorry. I just need you to forgive me." He gave her a small, but sincere smile.

"Of course I do." He pulled her into a hug and she tucked her face into his shirt, taking in his warmth, replacing the cold that her soul had felt. He pulled away with concern in his eyes.

"He didn't hurt you when you broke up with him did you?" She smiled at him,

"I think he wanted to, but I think you scared him."

"Well he was hurting my girl, couldn't let that happen," he said with a smile that could melt glaciers. Mercedes felt her heartbeat pick up pace, her palms begin to sweat. Maybe it was his protectiveness or maybe it was the fact that she was _his_ girl, but Mercedes could not handle the smile he was giving her. She cleared her throat and tried to calm her nerves.

"You are too good to me."

"I know," he said with a joking smile. They fell into another silence, but this one was comfortable. They heard the bell ring for 4th period.

"Escort me to class," Mercedes said as she stood.

"Of course," Puck responded, as he put his arm in hers. Their conversations consisted of the newest YouTube sensations and were in mid-laugh stopped at the door of Mercedes' math class.

"Will you please go to history class? I know you can't stand learning, but I would really like for you to walk across the stage with me at graduation." Mercedes put on her sweetest face, complete with a small pout and big eyes. Puck sighed, shaking his head. If there was any class that he wanted to skip, that would be it, but he couldn't turn down Mercedes puppy eyes.

"If you'll do something for me."

Mercedes hesitated before she responded with an eyebrow raise, "Alright, what?"

"Come have dinner with me Friday?"

"The night before sectionals? Really? What about the 'glee traditions'?"

"I'd rather be with you." Mercedes pulse quickened again.

"Well I don't know if Shelby wants me to spend time with our team."

"She'll be fine with it," he said with a confident shrug.

"If that is true, why should I have dinner with you?"

"Because it's not only me you're having dinner with." Mercedes sighed and rolled her eyes,

"I'm not fulfilling that fantasy you told me about."

"No, that's not it at all; even though that would be nice," he said with a seductive smile which eventually turned sweat, "but I want you to have dinner with Beth."

And then Mercedes felt like she had the wind knocked out her chest.

"You want me to meet Beth and spend time with her? Is Shelby and Quinn okay with this?"

"Shelby suggested it and Quinn thought it was fitting and well you are my best friend and you were there when she was born and I know you would never do anything to hurt her…or me, so yes. I do." Mercedes jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck and didn't hold back the tears of joy that came flooding to her eyes. She was finally getting to meet the child that she helped nurture before it was born. She was technically the baby's godmother, but do to adoption regulation wasn't officially allowed to see her unless invited. She cried into his arms and didn't even care that the late bell had rung for fourth period. Puck was grinning from cheek to cheek, happy that she responded so well to the invitation. Though they got into their arguments, Mercedes always tried to make things right. They both had strong will power and feisty tempers but they made it work. Through the last year and half they had been through so much and here they were, still together. They stood in the joyful embrace until a hall monitor forced them to separate. Mercedes wiped the tears from her eyes with a smile.

"I'll see you Friday," she said with a grin as she turned and head into her class.

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><p><em><strong>AN: I have a feeling that some of you aren't going to like somethings about this chapter. If this is you, I'm sorry. I had a vision for this story and this is the way it took me. I hope you enjoyed otherwise :) <strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

_Thursday Morning (2 days before sectionals)_

Mercedes was still beaming with excitement as she walked into school that day. All she had been thinking about was her dinner with Beth and Puck tomorrow night. Though something was worrying her: was Quinn really okay with this? The question plagued her mind last night. Quinn and she weren't on the best of terms and even though she trusted Puck, she wasn't so sure it was all rainbows and butterflies as he depicted it. She traveled through the halls, looking for the blonde, who she eventually saw staring sadly into her locker. The smile from her face faded a little as she took cautious steps toward the girl she at one time considered her soul sister.

"Quinn?"

She took a deep sigh in before turning to face Mercedes, "Yes?"

"Everything alright?"

"Yep," she grunted with a slam of her locker and turned away from Mercedes. Mercedes stood in a momentary shock, racking her brains for something that she did wrong. Sure they hadn't talked in a while, but slamming doors…really? When she regained control of her thoughts, she began walking after the girl, who had just turned into the choir room. Mercedes busted through the door, anger replacing the tentative demeanor she had first approached Quinn with. Mercedes stared in disbelief at the girl who stood next to the piano. She was not the girl who had lived with her two short years ago. Her features were not soft anymore, but harden with anger and disappointment. Though Mercedes could see that time had been harsh to her friend, she didn't not deserve to be treated with disrespect.

"Excuse me?" Mercedes asked, standing across from Quinn.

"You can leave," Quinn said through snarled teeth. Mercedes scoffed at her response, to which Quinn mumbled something.

"Can you speak up? Your bitch face is getting in the way of your words."

"I said, 'You can leave, it's what you're good at." Quinn cocked her hip out and crossed her arms. Mercedes took a few steps forward, hands up.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! You left the glee club….and you left me!

"You're kidding me right?" Quinn didn't move. "You're fucking kidding me? Right now I don't care what you think about me and the glee club but do you really think? That I left? _I_ left _you_? No, you left me! I've been in the same place for the past two years." Quinn raised an eyebrow,

"Well you didn't have trouble going after Puck." Mercedes rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Now I know you've gone crazy. Puck came to me! You ditched him as fast as you ditched me. But he knew that I would be there, just like I would've been there for you." Quinn's stance remained strong, but Mercedes saw her face begin to relax, looking slightly confused; like all the lies she had told herself over the past 2 years were beginning to fall apart at the seams.

"You lived with me for 2 months and I felt like a third parent to that child, like somehow it was mine to. I helped you nurture it before it was even brought into this world. I went in that delivery room with you; held your hand as you pushed out a perfect baby girl. I will never forget the joy in your eyes when they let you hold her. And the moment you told me I could be her godmother; I had never felt more proud. I remember holding Beth in my arms for the first time and finally realizing that you were fighting the most devastating battle that you would encounter in your life. That trying to figure out what was best for your baby girl was going to rip you apart. And you know what I thought at that moment? I'm going to be there for Quinn, through thick and thin." Quinn's body began to sag in defeat, but she still tried to hold strong.

"Did you just forget that after Beth left the hospital with Shelby that I sat with you in the hospital room as you clutched her baby blanket for 5 hours? That both Puck and I were there for you? That we wept with you as you lost the only thing that seemed to make life worth living?" Mercedes felt her throat being to choke; the tears begin to fall down. Quinn looked about as rough as she felt.

"Did you just forget that you and Puck came over to my house afterwards and we slept through the night, just holding each other? And did you forget that you and your things were gone before the sun even rose?" Quinn's mouth gapped open, trying to find some way to dispute the things that Mercedes was saying, but no sound came out.

"I called you every day that summer; even went to your house, to check on you. Had to look at your mother as she told me you weren't home, but I could hear your muffled cries. School started again and there you were, boy toy on your arm, cheerleading uniform on, and it was like it never happened. I tried to get to you, tried to be there, but _you_ wouldn't let me. So next time you feel the need to slam dorms and yell, please try to remember, who left who." Mercedes was full on sobbing and so was Quinn, but neither made a move. Mercedes waited a few moments before attempting to wipe her eyes.

"I was coming to make sure it was okay for me to see Beth, but obviously not. I tell Puck." Mercedes turned and headed out the door, feeling even more heartbroken. Not only had she destroyed any hope of building a relationship with Quinn, but her hopes of meeting the child had loved for the past 2 years had been dashed. She felt the tears coming again as she reached for the door knob.

"Mercedes," Quinn chocked out. Mercedes froze, holding onto the door knob.

"I'm sorry." Mercedes felt Quinn's delicate hand placed on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm sorry I accused you. I'm sorry I left you. I'm just…really, really sorry." Quinn pulled Mercedes in to a hug, Mercedes back to her front, and Quinn tucked her head into the nape of Mercedes neck. Mercedes released the door knob and turned to give Quinn a proper hug. They held each other tight, crying now silent tears for the lost time. They collapsed onto the floor after a few minutes, getting a good look at each other before laughing and how distraught they both looked.

"I know this doesn't fix things between us…" Quinn began.

"But it's a start," Mercedes finished with a smile.

_Thursday Afternoon_

Puck scanned the lunch room for Mercedes, concerned that he hadn't seen her all morning. He had waited at her locker before first period with a cup of hot chocolate to combat the cold weather outside, he didn't want his girl getting sick, until the late bell rung and she never showed. He went back to her locker after every period, hoping that she be standing there, but she hadn't been. Now thoughts of whether or not she actually wanted to meet Beth were racing through his head. Was it too much for her? Did it change the relationship they had? He was getting ready to give up and just eat lunch with Artie when he heard her laugh from the opposite entry of the lunch room. She walked in, arms linked with Quinn, and smiles across both their faces. Quinn locked eyes with Puck and gave knowing glance. Puck watched as she parted ways with Mercedes, and stared as Mercedes walked up to him. He felt like he had been hit with a truck. Mercedes and Quinn talking was not what he had expected this morning. Actually he expected the opposite. Quinn was not very happy when he _told_ her that Mercedes was going to meet Beth and she was going to have to deal with it. It wasn't best way to present the idea, but he knew that Quinn had been giving Mercedes the cold shoulder since the day after Beth's adoption. If it wasn't for the fact that Beth had come back he was pretty sure that she would still be giving him the cold shoulder.

"Earth to Noah?" A sing-song voice filled his ears as a hand waved back and forth in front of his face.

"What was that about?" Puck watched as the smile on Mercedes face grew and it warmed his heart to see her so happy.

"Well," she started, taking his arm in the direction of the normal glee table, "someone wasn't completely honest about everyone being okay with the dinner," she said with an eye brow raise, "so I went to talk to Quinn and we had to work through some things." Mercedes felt a little uncomfortable sitting with her old friends, but if she wanted to get back the family that she had thought she lost, she would have to be uncomfortable for a while. Puck pulled out her chair and she slid into it as he took the seat next to hers, intently listening as she retold the events of that morning Mercedes tried not to notice that this was the first time they had lunch together in...well ever. Even when she was in New Directions, he usually sat with his football friends and by the time he stopped caring what people thought of him, she had moved to sit with either Shane or Shelby's group. . She also tried not to notice how close he was sitting next to her and how intently he was listening. All of his attention was on her and she didn't know how to take it, but eventually decided to ignore it and continue.

After the apology they skipped the rest of their morning classes and talked through everything that had gone on over the time; both apologizing for not trying harder recently. Mercedes informed Quinn about her relationships, friend and romantic, that had been going on in her life and how she had felt like a revolving door for people, while Quinn talked about the recent therapy and the depression she had been going through.

"Our friendship isn't completely back to where it was, but it can get there, and be even stronger." Puck grabbed her hand that was placed on the table and gave it a squeeze and looked at her with a genuine smile.

"I'm happy for you." He held his gaze and his hand there for a few seconds to long but he couldn't look away from her eyes. They were shining like he had never seen before and he was mesmerized. A cough from Artie, reminded him to quickly remove is hand form hers. Mercedes cheeks felt a little hot and she gave shy smile, hoping no one had noticed how she was staring at Puck.

"Mercedes, nice to have you back at the table," Artie said.

"I hope you guys don't mind," Mercedes responded with an apologetic glance to the members of the Glee club who were slowly trickling in.

"Well wheezy, the boys talked to us girls and though I don't like the idea of fraternizing with the enemy, but I did miss you," Santana smiled. Rachel held her tongue and avoided Mercedes eyes, but Mercedes didn't really care. The less of Berry she heard, the better. She needed to have her head in the game for the competition on Saturday. The fact that she didn't have to worry about people hating her anymore, allowed her to have more of a sense of peace then she had felt in years.

The lunch hour was quick and filled with laughter and smiles. Mercedes had missed her friends and if she had described the situation to anyone else they would've thought she was crazy, but New Directions was her family and she could never just drop them. If her family wanted to try and make things better so would she.

Puck walked her to her next class and now it was his turn to tell her to go to class.

"Skipped half your classes yesterday, skipped half this morning, what happened to miss perfect attendance?"

"Well my best friend is a juvenile delinquent and I think he's rubbed off on me." Puck scoffed in offense at her.

"I've been to all my classes today, for your information."

"And that's due to me rubbing off on you!"

"Pshh, whatever!"

"Go to class!" Mercedes said with a beaming smile.

"I should be telling you that!"

"Goodbye Puck!"

He pulled her into a hug, "See you after school?" Mercedes wondered if she had forgotten another Best Friend Date but she _knew _they hadn't planned anything.

"Why?"

"Cause you love seeing my beautiful face," Puck said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Mercedes rolled her eyes at his cockiness, "You are too much! I think I'll just wait till tomorrow to see your…uhhh interesting face. Give my eyes some rest. They're starting to burn from too much exposure to it. I have practice this afternoon anyways and with all these emotions that I've had to deal with I know I'm going to be exhausted." Puck gave her a pout, but a nod in understanding.

"I feel like I should be offended at that, but I'm going to take it as a compliment. I'll see you tomorrow," and he gave her another hug and smile, before turning and going his class. Mercedes admired him as a walked away, trying to deal with the fact the she _did_ love seeing his beautiful face.

_Thursday Afternoon_

Mercedes walked into practice, prepared to pounce on Shelby. Though she had doubted Quinn's willingness, Shelby seemed to have taken a liking to her. She spotted her, already giving direction to some of the dancers even though practice wasn't supposed to start for another 30 minutes. Mercedes quickly placed her bag in an auditorium chair and walked as fast as she could on stage.

"Good to see you-" Shelby stopped short due to the fact that she was cut off by the hug that Mercedes had enveloped her in.

"Thank you," she whispered. Shelby relaxed into the girl's embraced, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"You deserve it," Shelby whispered back. Mercedes stepped back wiping her eyes of the few tears on her face.

"God, so much has been going on and all I feel like I do is cry," Mercedes said with a small laugh, "also, thanks for giving me yesterday afternoon off. I know sectionals are in two days but I would've been in no shape to do anything productive."

"I heard all about it and I understand. But that means you just have to work twice as hard today," Shelby said with a stern nod towards the starting point of the routine that she had a solo on.

Mercedes smiled, "Of course," and went straight to her position. The next 4 hours were grueling to say the least. Mercedes feet hurt from the heels she was forced to dance in and for the last hour she was put on vocal lock down due to the fact that she could feel her vocal chords begin to strain. But it was worth it, because that meant that practice was going to be over by 6 on Friday which meant she had plenty of time to get ready to meet Beth. Mercedes was beginning to pack up her things when Shelby approached her.

"I already see a hug improvement from Tuesday, but you're still on the cusp of figuring out the soul to your song. Have you figured out who you're singing to yet?" Mercedes realized that she had not thought about that since that day at Tijuana Flats. She coughed out a small no and went back to packing.

"Don't stress about it, just keep thinking about it. Also, Beth's favorite color is yellow. She can only say a few words, but you can just tell by her face, that people who wear yellow are her favorite." Mercedes looked at Shelby and smiled. Her cheeks were beginning to feel numb from all the smiling she was doing, but it was the only way she could express the joy that was beginning to come into her life.

"Thanks. See you tomorrow I guess," Mercedes spoke as she headed out of the auditorium to in the direction of her car, contemplating the question that should have been plaguing her since Tuesday.

_Thursday Evening_

Shelby unlocked her apartment door, meet with the smell of garlic bread and pasta.

"You know Mercedes isn't coming over till tomorrow," she said as she hung her coat up.

"I know," Puck said from the kitchen, "but since you are letting me bring her over here tomorrow I figured I'd cook you dinner tonight." Shelby walked over to where Beth was sitting on the floor playing with blocks and sat down with her and helped her build.

"I'm surprised Mr. Shue didn't have practice."

"Oh he did, but he knows Thursday is my day to babysit Beth and if he didn't excuse me I wouldn't show up anyways."

"That's sweet, though now he probably thinks I'm trying to sabotage you guys."

"Nah, he's cool and I know my stuff so it's okay."

"Good. I don't want any excuses on Saturday when we whoop your guys' butts." Shelby picked Beth up a few moments later, putting her in the high chair and placing a bib around her neck. Puck laid out the pasta and marinara sauce that he had made for dinner.

"Whatever, we're going to dominate and you know it."

"Enough choir smack talk, let's dig in." As Puck passed her the salad and Shelby made conversation… deep conversation.

"So what exactly is going on between you and Mercedes?" Puck chocked on the piece of bread he had just bit into.

"What do you mean?"

"You're bringing another woman around my child and I know her so that's why I agreed without asking first, but I think I deserve to know some history."

"Well, uhhh, there's not much interesting history. We became friends during Quinn's pregnancy and stayed friends afterwards. She helped me get through the pain of losing both Beth and Quinn and had never left my side. We get into arguments, but we always make it through better and stronger." Shelby watched as he fondly went through his relationship with Mercedes. Shelby could see a change in Puck since Beth was born. Actually she had seen one over the past month. Old Puck was crude and cocky, but something had encouraged him to become better. And though he still thought he was all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips, he was the epitome of a changed man and she assumed it had something to do with the lead singer of her choir. She recognized that look he had on his face as he talked about Mercedes and he wondered if he _knew_.

"So friendship, that's it?"

"Well we dated for a week one time, but that's it." Puck felt himself getting sad while he talked about this part of his relationship with Mercedes. He noticed that recently. Whenever the "f" was brought up between them he got really upset and he didn't know how to handle it.

"Are you sure?" Puck stared at Shelby, whose eyebrow rose when she asked the question, confused by why she was so interested. He began to nod, but suddenly stopped.

"I-I don't know actually," he said with a sigh of defeat. Shelby just nodded her head, which confused Puck even more. It was like she knew something he didn't and he wanted to ask her what, but figured her response would just confuse him more. To get his mind off it he turned to his daughter who was fisting the special bowl of butter and parmesan cheese he had made for her.

After reading a couple of toddler books he knew that Beth needed to become slightly more self-sufficient, so he let her feed herself when the opportunity across, but spaghetti sauce was a pain to get off clothes and her face (she was a wiggler) so for now he would make the effort to make a less messy version of food for her. He smiled at his baby girl who was talking nonsense as she smacked on her food. Every time he looked at her he became more and more amazed at the fact that he helped create her. She was perfect thing that came from a screw up like him. But not anymore, he was going to be better for her. And I guess that was one of the main reasons he wanted Mercedes to come over. She was making him better for his little girl and he wanted Mercedes to be proud of the fact that she had changed him, for the better.

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><p><strong>AN: so this chapter had a lot going on and it didn't really get too specific on how the characters were feeling, but that should be different next chapter :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter just the same. <strong>

**PS: I don't own glee. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey readers who have decided to continue reading even though I've been terrible at updating,  
><strong>

** I've been M.I.A (haha do you see what I did there?) for awhile due to some personal problems but due to a message from zeejack (thanks for that!) I've decided to continue this story! **

**To make up for lost time this chapter is really long...like reallyyyyy long so hopefully you'll forgive me! **

**I really do love you guys!**

**P.S. I don't own these character!**

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><p>Mercedes woke up in a fog, wondering if the last week was real. She had regained friends, lost a douche bag boyfriend, and soon she was going to meet her god daughter.<p>

But nothing….absolutely nothing….could have prepared her for last night.

_Mercedes returned home after practice excited to figure out her outfit for the dinner the next night. Though Sectionals seemed a thousand miles away, she put her Ipod in its docking station with the song she was singing on Saturday on repeat, while she danced around the room, singing at the top of her lungs. She was so blinded by happiness that she didn't hear her mom come in the room. _

"_Mercedes, baby…are you alright?" Mercedes jumped and grabbed her chest. _

"_Don't you knock?"_

"_I DID….a couple of times. I guess you couldn't hear me over your big mouth!" Mercedes scoffed in mock offense as her mother walked over to her bed laughing. Mercedes went over to her Ipod turning down the music so her mom didn't have to shout to talk to her. _

"_So can I ask what all this is for?" she inquired pointing to the mound of clothes Mercedes had thrown on her bed. Mercedes then proceeded to inform her mom about the activities of the last 48 hours. _

"_Well, I hope Quinn comes over more!" Mercedes sometimes forgot that her mom got as close with Quinn as she did and probably missed her twice as much. Quinn was like a second daughter to her. _

"_Oh, she will trust."_

"_And you better take tons of pictures tomorrow night and maybe you can even invite Mrs. Corcoran, Noah, and Beth over for dinner one night! That child might as well be my grandbaby and I want to meet her and dote on her as much as possible! And you know how I love Noah." Mercedes loved the fact that her mom cared so much about the people in her life, no matter what happened. _

"_I'll ask and see!" _

"_Well it seems things are going well," her mother joyful added as she folded some of the clothes on Mercedes' bed, "I know your break up with Shane was rough-"_

"_Don't mention his name! I can't believe I was with him!" _

"_Now Mercedes Jones! You were with Shane for what 3 months…it couldn't have been all bad? Don't let that last week ruin all the good times. I'm not saying go date him again, God, don't do that. He showed a piece of him and who knows what else is behind all that jealousy and whatnot. I'm just saying, you forgave Quinn and all those glee people…Shane treated you good for a while, there's no reason to treat him as enemy number one." _

_Mercedes wanted to disagree, but her mom did have a point. Shane had been a decent boyfriend. He remembered various anniversaries, supported her spilt from the glee club, and her room was still littered with jewelry and pictures from various dates. _

"_I guess you're right mom."_

"_No guessing, I know I am," Mama Jones said with a smile. They sat in a comfortable silence, mindlessly rifling through Mercedes clothes, until it was interrupted by a knock on the door. _

"_I'll go get that," Mama Jones said as she got up and left Mercedes in her room. Mercedes flung back onto her bed with a contemplative look on her face, still thinking about Shane. He had been terrible that last week. She had seen Shane's true colors and boy they were green, but was he really all to blame? Mercedes didn't want to think about it and become upset, so she got back up and headed over to her closet. She heard the door downstairs close. _

"_Who was it mom?" she shouted downstairs. _

"_A ghost." _

_Mercedes felt the air escape her lungs. Could it really be him? _

"_Sam Evans," she said as she turned to face the blond hair boy standing at her door. _

"_The one and only," he said with a nervous half-smile. Mercedes slowly let out her breath. She subtly pitched her arm and it hurt. "So I'm awake," she thought. Sam Evans was in her room; the boy who danced his way into the heart seven months ago and then proceeded to rip piece of it out two months later. "What are you doing here?"_

"_What? No hi, no how you doing, no hug, no damn boy you look fine!" Mercedes let out a nervous, but genuine giggle. He did in fact look good, his hair was a little darker, he seemed more confident. His smile was still perfect, his eyes somehow brighter green. She felt her cheeks blush – she was probably staring. _

"_I-I'm sorry. This is just a shock. Come here," she said opening her arms as she walked towards him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and she rested her head against his firm chest. She listened for his heartbeat, which seemed to be beating faster than normal. She relaxed a little bit; he was a nervous as she was. His head rested on top of hers as she inhaled his sweet scent, noticing it hadn't changed. But instead of being comforting as she remembered, it kind of made her sick to her stomach. _

_Feeling like they were holding each other a little too tight, a little too long, Mercedes pulled away. _

"_It's really good to see you," he said with an exhale. _

"_Yeah, you too." _

Mercedes laid in bed replaying their evening together. It was like everything and nothing happened. They had awkward retelling of life since the break-up. Sam hated his new school and his parents, hating the fact that their situation stole his sophomore year for him, allowed him to move back to stay with a church family they had grown close to. He was going to be back at McKinely on Friday. She was the only one who knew, _the same way she was the only one who knew he was leaving_, she silently thought.

She gave him brief facts about her life, nervous about letting her guard down. She said her and Shane broke up, but didn't tell him why. And she left out anything about her Puck. Sam used to have a not-so-crazy, but similar feelings of jealousy about their friendship. The situation was already awkward and trying to explain that Puck and she were…well, she didn't even know, so how was he going to be able to understand?

Her snooze alarm rang, signaling that if she didn't get up right at that moment she was forfeiting a shower for the day and that was not cute. Mercedes used her shower time to try to calmly think of the day ahead of her. Dealing with Sam, final rehearsals for sectionals, mentally preparing herself for meeting with Beth…Oh, not to mention the two homework assignments that she didn't do and the 2 test she didn't study for. She giggled to herself, maybe Puck was rubbing off on her; which reminded her of her biggest affair – Noah Puckerman.

There was something about him that kept her right by his side. No matter the dilemma or relationship crisis, they were always together. And she didn't want to picture a time when they wouldn't be true. The thought, which had never crossed her mind until that moment in the shower, caused her heart to race in a way that she had never experience and it seemed like all the air was removed from the bathroom. Her inhalations became short and faster paced, but it felt like none of the air was reaching her lungs.

"Mercedes? Honey, everything okay?" her mom asked from outside the door.

Mercedes focused on her mom's voice, trying to calm herself down so that she would stop having her panic attack.

"Uhh, yeah," she choked out, "I'm almost done. I'll be down for breakfast in ten." Mercedes turned off the shower, took a few deep breathes and tried to forget about her little misshape in the shower. She didn't know why the thought of Puck not being there terrified her, _it just did_. He had become such a vital part to her life. She said a silent prayer that she would never have to experience that and left the bathroom to continue on with her morning routine. She decided for workout attire seeing as she had too much to do today to be concerned with gaudy jewelry and a hairstyle that required maintenance. She grabbed her backpack and ran down the stairs; her mom handed her a muffin as she headed for the door.

"Mercedes," she said as she grabbed her daughter's hand, "I know you have a lot going on. Just know, no matter what happens I'm here." Mercedes gave her mom a small smile and let out a breath. That was just something she needed to hear and it didn't surprise her that mom knew what to say. She gave her mom a kiss goodbye and left her house.

Mercedes pulled into the parking lot and took a deep breathe, "Let's do this."

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><p>Noah Puckerman's jaw hit the ground, partly due to the fact that Mercedes looked absolutely stunning in her capri yoga pants and purple v-neck. How she could be so stunning all the time, it baffled him. But his lack jaw was mostly due to the blond boy carrying her books.<p>

He clenched his fits, but smiled genuinely in their direction. Sure, he was happy to see his old friend, but he did not appreciate the way he was looking at his girl. He attempted to shake the jealousy from his mind. She wasn't technically his girl, but he had seen her after Sam left and so he was a little uneasy about him showing up unannounced and definitely uninvited. This was his first day back at McKinely, as far as he could tell, and he was already trying to get close to Mercedes.

But he seemed to forget all that anger when Mercedes gave him small smile and wave.

Puck pulled Sam in a hug, deciding Mercedes looked stress enough and didn't need any more boy drama weighing on her.

"Sam! What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

"I'm back, hopefully for good." He said with a grin and a look at Mercedes. Puck also looked at Mercedes who was smiling, but also looked uneasy.

"That's awesome man! It's good to see that big ol' mouth again. But, don't you need to go see Mrs. Pillsbury for your schedule?" He hoped he had come up with a good enough excuse for the Tennessee native to beat it.

"True. Thanks man. We'll have to catch up soon. Mercedes, will I see you later?" He asked as he went to hand her the books.

"Uh, I guess," she said with a small smile as she went to grab for them.

"I'll take her books," Noah grinned and his hand intercepted them. Sam paused for a minute and seemed to clench his jaw, but released the books to Puck.

"Really I can carry my own books," Mercedes sighed to the two boys. They both just smiled at her. Sam then patted Noah on the shoulder, "See you guys later." Puck observed Mercedes relax once Sam was gone. He thought she had been through a lot already and this bombshell might be the one to send her over the edge.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the gym, "we need to talk." Mercedes resisted so he stopped pulling. He could see from her body language that she didn't feel threatened, just tired.

"I've skipped my morning classes enough this week and I just can't talk about feelings and emotions right now. I will tell you, though surprised, I am fine with this whole Sam thing for right now. But don't worry; I am still super excited about tonight. So don't ask me anything out of the normal today, please? We can eventually talk, just not right now." He looked down at her shimmering brown eyes, which were pleading for him just too silently be there for her.

"Alright, but I'm here. You remember?"

"Of course," she whispered as he pulled her in for a hug.

* * *

><p>An hour into practice, Mercedes felt confident. The day had dragged on, but now she was on the stage and everything felt…right. No worries about anything. No Sam following her like a sick puppy, no worried looks from Puck, no questions from Quinn and Kurt about why Sam was following her; Just her and the music. They were doing silent-run-throughs to make sure her and the members didn't lose their voice and also taking it at a slower pace so that no one hurt themselves. There was still another hour and a half left in practice so they would go back to normal pace by at least the last thirty minutes. Right now it was just about committing the routine to memory and staying together no matter what happened. Shelby was making it fun though; throwing random things on stage, changing the pace of the music occasionally, and yelling for people to carefully trip. It was almost like a game; but it made practice more relaxed, which Mercedes silently appreciated.<p>

Puck, on the other hand, was not enjoying his rehearsal as much. Sam Evan's was currently sitting in the glee club room watching them practice with a smug smile on his face. He hadn't done anything wrong, but Puck hated his presence. Because he knew…he _knew_ why Sam was back. Sure he missed the glee club, but it was for _her_.

He had been drowning in the sea that was Mercedes Jones for the last two years and he knew how it could be. She was intoxicating. She got underneath your skin and never left. He knew Sam had cared deeply about Mercedes while he was there, but things had changed since Trouty Mouth had left. It wasn't just the fact that he almost destroyed her when he left or the fact that Mercedes had already gone through a lot over the last couple of months. It was the fact that, well…

"I love her," he mumbled to himself mid song. He was so surprised with his revelation that he just stopped moving causing Tina to run into him.

"Puckerman! What are you doing?" exclaimed Tina.

"Everything okay Puck?" Mr. Shue asked, noticing the sudden stop.

"Uh-yeah Mr. Shue just tired." Mr. Shue didn't look completely sold, but seemed to take Puck's word.

"You guys have been working hard. Why don't we take five?" The group mumbled in agreement as they dispersed to different corners for water.

Puck didn't know how he didn't realize it sooner, but he _knew_ it was true. And it was always going to be true. He had loved Lauren, but what he felt about Mercedes couldn't be described.

The way she smelled, how she said his name, how her nose scrunched up when she was thinking really hard about something. He loved when she laughed at corny jokes and how she swayed her hips unconsciously when she listened to music. How she was always there for him, even when couldn't see it. He loved her smile and how it seemed to shine brighter than the sun. He loved the way she loved; with every fiber of her being. He just _loved her_.

His feelings for her had escalated to something more than a friendship. He didn't know when, but it did. Something inside him told him that their love could be what they wrote stories about. It had taken him long enough to see this, and he wasn't going to let go. He was going to make it happen.

Sure Sam Evans was back, but Mercedes was a woman who could make her own decisions. She was a person who couldn't be bought; she based her opinion off the things you do that show your character.

So he tightened his water bottle cap and hoped his character would prove himself to her and that she would chose him.

"Good practice guys, we're going to kick the New Directions butts!" The Troubletones shouted in agreeance to Shelby's statement, as the packed up their things.

"Now I want you guys in this auditorium no later than 11 AM in basic uniform attire. You outfits will be here and make-up and hair will be done at 5, and it starts at 6. Eat a light breakfast, I'll have lunch for you guys at 2 and when we win I'll take you guys out to dinner! So what time do I want you here?"

"10:30 AM," replied the group, knowing the real time Shelby meant.

"That's right! Love you guys, good work! Get some rest and be ready to kick some booty tomorrow! And of course, Mercedes I need to see you." Mercedes shrugged her shoulders, expecting it. She walked over to Shelby.

"So dinner tonight…you excited?"

"Oh, no doubt! Thanks again for allowing this! Also, my mom wants to have you and Beth over for dinner one night! I've told her how you've been pretty much a mentor to me and of course she's been dying to meet Beth." Mercedes watched Ms. Corcoran's smile weaken a little bit and it upset Mercedes to see how little she trusted people.

"Mercedes, you meeting Beth, sure.., but all these-"

"Ms. Corcoran, I know you're a single mom and I know how hard it can be. My grandma was a single mom and she tells me how it is. How she wouldn't change anything, but it would've been nice to have some support. I know it's just you and Beth in that apartment and believe we love Beth; she _is _a part of our family. But you're her mom and which means we love you to! We're not trying to take her away from you; our family just cares a lot about the people in our lives."

"I can tell with your relationship with Puck. I'll think about it and let you know," Shelby said with a small smile.

"Perfect! My mom's a great cook!"

"I bet."

"So is that all you wanted to see me about?"

"No actually…I just wanted to tell you that, Mercedes, there is just something about you. I wouldn't just let any girl come around my daughter. But I see the way Puck talks about you and the care you have in your voice when you talk about him and Beth."

"Well Puck and I have been friends for a long time, I care for him deeply." Mercedes loved what Puck and she had. She could count on their relationship when everything was falling apart.

"Yeah I know, but it's more than that."

"What?" Mercedes didn't know what Shelby was trying to hint at. It was like everyone saw something that she didn't.

"You know."

"I'm going to have to respectfully say I don't." Shelby squinted her eyes at Mercedes, seeming to search her face for some type of truth. When Shelby could see that she wasn't hiding anything, she just gave her a knowing nod.

"Don't ever say I didn't tell you so… Just remember who you're singing for." Mercedes let out a silent sigh. She had hoped, by some miracle, the Shelby wouldn't bring it up because nothing had changed. She didn't know who she was signing to and at this point it was going to take too much effort to figure it out. Shelby stared expectantly at Mercedes like somehow she would magically understand what Shelby was talking about; but Mercedes didn't have anything to say. So she just shrugged her shoulder.

"Nothing? Hmhh…Well, tonight I'm going to take a spa night at Bella Lima while you're at dinner with my daughter. I'm going to tell Puck this, but I wanted you to know so don't hesitate to call."

"Of course," Mercedes replied, hoping that she wouldn't have to call her. Tonight was supposed to relax her before sectionals, not stress her out more with baby emergencies. She gave Shelby a hug and rushed out to her car. She checked her cellphone. It was 6:30, so she had 45 minutes to go home and change, before talking the 15 minute drive downtown to Shelby's. She put her car in reverse and said a silent prayer that everything would go smoothly.

Puck walked out of practice and straight to his truck, not wasting a second in the glee club room. He heard a slew of voices asking "where's the fire? What about tonight?" Honestly he couldn't care less what they had to say. Tonight was about him and his two girls. He checked his watch; 6:15. Mercedes wasn't due until 7:30 which meant dinner didn't have to go in till 7, which was when Shelby said she leave. He had to run an errand to Breadsticks and the Piggly Wiggle and contemplated if 45 minutes was enough time to run it and shower. He decided to ask Shelby is he could stick around for an extra 15 minutes so he had a little bit longer to pull himself together. He pulled out his cell, asking her and she agreed. He thought he should feel a little extra pressure due to the fact that he figured out he loved Mercedes. But for some reason he was just happy that they were going to be together.

"Alright; this is going to work out," he said with a confident smile.

* * *

><p>Mercedes walked up to apartment 475. It was 7:25, so she hoped 5 minutes wasn't too big of deal. She had actually been sitting outside the building for 10 minutes. She didn't want to be too early and ruin everything; but also wanted as much time with Beth as possible. How she had so much time to kill, she had no idea, but if everything was working out for the better, who was she to complain. She did a quick knock on the door and shuffled back and forth.<p>

"One minute!" Puck's voice calmed her but made her nervous all the same time.

"Watch out doodle bug." Mercedes became a little giddy at hearing his pet name for Beth. It was just too stinking cute. The door cracked slightly and when Puck saw it was her, he opened the door completely. He seemed stunned for a moment, but responded enthusiastically to her presences.

"Mercedes! You look beautiful!" Beautiful was an understatement. Her presences always seem to leave him breathless. She was just simply gorgeous. She wore a pair of black flats, dark blue jeans that reminded him of why he tried that "you got more curves than a Nissan ad" line, and a black pea coat that was open so he could see her yellow cami, with a wide band waist and white embroidery. Her air was down in a simple wavy style, with her bangs brushed to the side. She wasn't wearing a necklace, but she did have a simple light blue bracelet, with matching flower earrings. _To add to list of things he loved about her: how her skin seemed to shimmer when she wore yellow. _

Puck knew she put a lot of effort into the outfit, thought it was simple. He knew it wasn't for him too, which made it that much better. It was for Beth. She probably left her hair down so that Beth could play hairdresser if she wanted. He knew she wanted to wear yellow, Beth's favorite color, but still be able to move around and play. Mercedes didn't ever leave the house without jewelry, so the earrings were for just habit, but he knew she wore the bracelet because she knew Beth loved them. A little fact she helped him discover when he wanted to get Beth a gift for missing her first birthday. _Another thing to add to the list: he loved how much she loved Beth._

"You need to stop! This is nothing and besides you clean up nice yourself!" And boy did he. Mercedes would be surprised if she had a stunned look on his face. Though it wasn't much, he looked handsome; Towel over his shoulder, a black and blue plaid shirt, and dark wash jeans. Clean shaven with his Mohawk trimmed and in place. His simplistic style was something she had always appreciated about him; it showed his personality.

But honestly, the best thing about him was the fact that his stunning baby girl was latched on to his leg.

Mercedes took a few steps closer to the door, crouching down to get on Beth's level.

"Hi Beth, my name is Mercy!" Beth just stared at her and honestly, it disappointed Mercedes. She wanted Beth to jump into her arms and call her Auntie and start blabbing away, but right now it looked like Beth was just staring into her soul and it was a little uncomfortable.

"She's a little shy; trust me, by the end of the night you won't be able to get her to shut up. Why don't you come in and get comfortable." Puck scooted him and Beth out of the way and Mercedes walked into the apartment. She knew Shelby had good taste and her apartment just reiterated the fact. Mercedes loved the fact that baby toys were strewn across the floor and that drawings were hung up and framed all around the house. Mercedes could tell that Shelby was a mom devoted to her child and she admired that. She felt the wind of Puck who was passing behind her heading into the kitchen.

"Dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes."

"That's fine. I'm in no rush. I bought Beth something, I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not! Go ahead and give it to her. I'm sure she'll love it." Mercedes reached into her purse and grabbed a wrapped present.

"Hey Beth, you see this? This is a present for you. You want it?" Beth stared at her from the baby gate that was blocking her from entering the kitchen. Mercedes was nervous that she would start crying, but eventually Beth's eyes went to the colorfully wrapped present and she slowly nodded her head.

"Well then come here!" Beth took a few steps from the baby gate and held her hand out. Mercedes placed the present in her hands and once it was placed in it, she turned to her father.

"Go ahead and open it," said Puck. Beth's face immediately lit up and she began tearing up the paper revealing a yellow sock monkey with a pink heart stitched onto it. She jumped around holding it in the air, giggling at her new toy.

"What do you say?"

"Ti, Ti" Mercedes giggled at the little girl's version of thank you.

"You're welcome sweetheart."

"Go give her a hug," Puck encouraged. Beth ran over to Mercedes who was still kneeling on the ground and wrapped her tiny arms around her. Mercedes squeezed the blond girl, trying to savor everything about the little hung. This was the first time she had seen this precious girl since the day of her birth and she didn't know how long she was sticking around. She _needed_ to cherish every moment with her. When the hug was over, Beth grabbed Mercedes hand and pulled her over to a little coloring table where she handed Mercedes some crayons and instructed her to color some Disney Princess pictures.

A few moments later, Puck called everyone to the dinner table. Beth ran over with her new doll in hand and Puck picked her up, giving her a little toss in the air, before putting her high chair.

"My turn!" Mercedes joked.

"Come on! I got you!" Puck teased as he held his arms out for her.

"Boy, you need to stop!" Puck just shook his head and pulled out her chair. He helped scoot her and Mercedes observed the various containers.

"It smells delicious," she noted.

"Hopefully it tastes decent. I made your favorite, Tots, chicken nuggets, and I cooked up some chopped carrots so we get our vegetables. I know it's not gourmet but-"

"It's perfect," Mercedes interrupted with a simple smile. She knew he had put some thought into the meal and instead of going overboard, he kept it simple. She knew, that he knew, that she was a picky eater and of course, nothing made dinner better than throwing in some tots.

"Well, dig in," he cheered.

Mercedes, Puck, and Beth spent the next hour just spent the time enjoying each other's company. Mercedes soaked in Beth's mannerisms and engaged in "conversation" which was just her responding with a various oohs and ahhs. Puck watched as his best friend and daughter interacted, loving the peace he felt in his heart. It was like everything was right and nothing could interrupt this moment. But eventually Beth became bored sitting in her high chair and wanted to run around. Puck got up from the table to attend to his daughter. He placed her on his hip and she grabbed in the direction of the high chair, repeating "Ki Ki" to make sure Puck remembered to grab her monkey.

"I'm getting her, be patient!"

Mercedes loved watching Puck with his daughter. Mercedes thought her heart would burst from the amount of love she could feel between the two. Getting this view of Puck was something new, but something she enjoyed. This is who Puck strived to be and Mercedes was happy she got to see the real him. She watched as Beth dragged Puck over to the dress up and begin to put a princess tiara on his head. Mercedes wish she could capture this moment and show the whole world. Who would believe, that Noah Puckerman, the ambadassador, was willing to play dress up.

Once Mercedes caught her breath from laughing so hard, she decided to make herself useful and began to clear of the table. Mercedes listened to the sound of Beth talking and giggling as she washed the dishes. This is what she needed; a simple break from life and an adorable bundle of blond joy to keep her distracted. Lost in the happiness of her thoughts she didn't hear Puck walk into the kitchen.

Puck stopped and just looked at Mercedes as she washed the dishes, lost in her own little world with a dazzling smile on her face. _Another thing to add to the list: the way she always tried to help_. He couldn't stop his mind from thinking that this could be their life one day…together. A home, a kid, and a heart constantly full of love.

When he committed this moment to memory he went and placed his hand on her arm, which caused her to jump.

"I didn't mean to scare you, but you don't have to do the dishes." Mercedes was stunned for a moment. She noticed his hand was still on her arm and how close he seemed to be standing. It should've made her uncomfortable, but in fact it made her feel safer.

Puck hadn't meant to stand so close to her, but when she jumped… it just happened. They were now practically toe to toe, just looking at each other. Her bottom lip was opened slightly, like she was still in shock, and all he had to do was lean down and he could kiss her. He started leaning closer when she abruptly turned her head to focus on the dishes.

"But I want to. Go spend some time with your baby." Mercedes couldn't decide if she had imagined Puck leaning in for a kiss or if it was her raising herself up to meet his lip. What she did know, was that she didn't want to ruin their friendship over a "moment."

Puck took a couple steps back. He didn't want to push his actions on her; but he wasn't discouraged. This wasn't a defeat, just a slight detour.

"The whole point of tonight was for you to get to know her. Plus its already 8:45 and bath is at 9:15, bed at 9:45. Shelby isn't due home till 10 so we can clean up then and I promise you can do all the dishes you want then," Puck insisted as he pulled her away from the sink.

"Fine," Mercedes hissed with an exaggerated eye roll, but with a smile on her face. She dried her hands and went over to the dress up area with Puck, where Beth instructed them in a toddler version Cowboy and Indians mixed with dragons and princess. At 9:15, once the dragon had been slayed and Princess Beth had been saved from the jail where the cowboys had been keeping her, Mercedes and Puck got Beth into the bath after prying Ki Ki from her little hands long enough to get the dried katsup of her face. And after Beth had finish causing a small flood in the bathroom, she was brought to the bedroom where she was placed in her pjs and put in bed.

"Frog! Frog!" she exclaimed.

"She wants me to read her a book," Puck said with an apologetic shoulder shrug.

"Don't worry about it. I'll wait in the living room." She turned to leave, completely fine with the little girl having daddy time.

"Thi, Thi!" Beth yelled as she pointed to Mercedes.

"I think she wants you to!" Mercedes heart warmed at how the little girl called out for her with a version of what she guessed was 'Ci Ci.'

"Well, how can I deny that smile?"

Puck and Mercedes climbed into Beth's bed on either side of her, taking turns as the red her _The Princess and the Frog. _Eventually they heard Beth's breathe even out and saw that the little girl was fast asleep. Mercedes and Puck looked at each other and gently climbed out of bed, shut the lights off and closed the door, leaving a crack open.

Mercedes and Puck noticed that there was still 10 minutes before Shelby was supposed to be home and they began to straighten up the kitchen and living room.

"That girl sure has an imagination. I don't know where she came up with that story," Mercedes reminisced.

"Me neither, but I love it and I hope she never changes." And Puck was serious. Beth had turned out greater than he could've ever imagined. And though one day he knew he wanted kids, he knew Shelby was doing a fantastic job with her. They silently cleaned until Shelby came home.

"I'm assuming everything went well," she asked as she placed her keys on the table. "And I see you guys cleaned."

"It's no big deal. The two of us are a good team," Puck beamed. Shelby enjoyed how happy he was when he was around Beth and Mercedes. It was sweet. He eventually continued, "Beth is also bathed and asleep with her new toy."

"A new toy?"

"Yeah I just got her a little monkey, which she calls Ki Ki," Mercedes stated from the table she was sitting at.

"Well isn't that precious. You didn't have to."

"It's really no big deal. It was just something small I picked up," Mercedes explained. Puck walked up next to her and handed Mercedes her jacket, which she grabbed as she got up from the table.

"Well Mercedes and I are going to leave. It's time for dessert," Puck grinned as he walked to the door. Mercedes looked a little confused, but followed him. Shelby just gave them a smile, already knowing what Puck had planned.

"Don't keep her out too late; I need my star rested for tomorrow."

"Don't worry, she has a midnight curfew," Puck assured.

Mercedes didn't know there was a second part to this perfect evening. All she knew was that Puck was grabbing her hand and leading her out of the apartment.

"Uhh thanks Shelby, for letting me come over. I'll see you tomorrow," she shouted over her shoulder.

"Anytime! Goodnight Mercedes; Night Puck."

"Night Shelby," they replied in unison as they walked out of the apartment, both excited and nervous for what that rest of the night held.

* * *

><p>"So I'm going to follow you home. You're going to park your car and then get into mine. And before you ask, don't worry about it; your parents already know," Puck instructed when they arrived at Mercedes' car in the parking lot.<p>

"Do_ I_ get to know?" she asked as she got into her car.

"Nope; don't worry about it." And that's all he said as he closed the door for her. Mercedes gave him a slight scowl through the window.

She sat for a moment and a wave of exhaustion hit her. So she texted him, "I need coffee."

"Don't worry about it," was all he replied. Mercedes just shook her head and smiled at the text and began the drive home. Fifteen minutes later she parked her car in her driveway and promptly walked over to Puck's truck. She promptly buckled up and he began to drive. Puck had the local light rock station on in his car as they wondered through the streets of Lima. Mercedes looked in her cup holder where a cup of coffee rested.

"It's fresh," he declared, still facing foreword.

"How'd you get this?" Mercedes had pretty much watched him in her rear view mirror the entire way to her face and he hadn't stopped anywhere.

"Don't worry about it." He had a cocky smile on his face and Mercedes wanted to wipe it off, because he knew that he was aggravating her.

"You know I'm getting tired of hearing that," she glowered, taking a sip of the perfectly sweetened coffee.

"Just relax," he chuckled, "Beth can be a handful and we're going to be out for at least another 2 hours. And don't worry about it. I got your curfew extended and you will be home in time to get enough sleep." He placed his hand on her thigh and gave it an assuring squeeze; and, Mercedes, who was skeptical but still too tired to question him, closed her eyes and drifted into a light sleep.

Twenty minutes later, against what he wanted to do, Puck nudged her awake. He had enjoyed watching her sleep. _Adding to the list of things he loved_: _the way she slightly snored._ It was really just too cute.

"We're here," he said with a huge grin on his face. Mercedes wiped the sleep for her eyes and looked around. To her surprise Puck's truck was in an open field. Mercedes could see some lone fireflies fluttering a bout and some wild flowers growing in various patches. She could tell it was beautiful during the day, but the moonlit gave it a romantic, whimsical feel that made Mercedes stomach flutter.

"Wow," she sighed. Puck loved the look on her face and it just confirmed that he made the smart decision by bringing her here. She was really the only person who could understand the true beauty of this place. _Another thing to add to the list: the way her eyes light up when she sees fireflies._

"I come out here sometimes just to think. It makes Lima and its problems seem so far away." Mercedes just seemed to stare with an amazed look on her face.

"Come on; let's go to the truck bed." Puck opened the door, allowing the cool November air to blow on Mercedes, snapping her out of her trance.

"Puck, it's freezing outside."

"Don't worry about it." Puck sent her another confident grin and handed her a long sleeve shirt, which she put on after removing her jacket. Then proceed to put her jacket back on. She walked to the bed of the truck wondering why she was doing this. It was the middle of the night, in the middle of winter and she was blindly following Puck outside, in the woods; but she trusted him. He had never given her reason not to. And when she saw the truck bed, he had proven himself one more time. The view in front of her would make any girl swoon. In the time that it took her to put on the long sleeve shirt, he had place out two thermoses, slices triple chocolate cheesecake with strawberries, a stack of blankets, some already laid out, and a heater that looked designed for the truck bed.

"Noah, what's all this about?" She was so shocked and Puck was proud of himself. He had definitely done something right.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Okay, say that one more time-"

"I'm just kidding! I just wanted to make this night special for you. Tomorrow is the big day, we had a big night, and this week has been long but we haven't had any time to just be us."

"Well this is wonderful. I love it."

Puck pulled out a step stool and offered his hand to help Mercedes into the truck and then he quickly climbed in with her. He proceeded closed the gate trying to keep some of the cold wind out and angled the heater so it faced the spot he knew Mercedes would end up.

"I know you're a baby, so if it's too cold still in about 30 minutes I promise we'll leave. But until then come here." Puck was leaning against the window and pated the seat next to him, which Mercedes gladly took. He placed two blankets on top of them and put a blanket around over their shoulders. Mercedes snuggled close, trying to get as much warmth as possible. Once she was comfortable she went to grab for one of the thermoses, but Puck moved it out of the way before she grabbed it.

"HEY! What the heck Puck?"

"It's not going to be that easy to get your treats! I've decided to hold them ransom!" He stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Really? Come on, it's too cold for this," she droned.

"Well I have the hot chocolate, so I hold the power," he said smugly.

"Fine, how do I get it back?"

"My condition is we talk about what's been going on this week."

"Come on Puck," she whined, "I just don't want to think about it."

"Come on Mercedes," he mocked, "I'm your best friend, talk to me." Mercedes groaned and tried to think of a way to weasel her way out of talking about it, but she didn't have the mental strength to do it.

"Fine; what do you want to talk about?"

"How about we start off with the good stuff?" He grabbed some popcorn that he had popped over the heat lamp and handed her some.

"Well I guess there's nothing's really better than the fact that I have my glee family and especially Quinn back and the fact that I finally got to meet Beth…I really couldn't have done any of it without you. I really…I really appreciate it; like everything. Just the fact that your always there should be enough, but you always go above and beyond."

"Really Mercedes, you're worth it; I'd do anything to make you smile." His comment actually made Mercedes smile, and it also made her self-conscious, so she covered it.

He pushed her hands out of the way, "Hey don't do that, you making me miss the best part!"

"I can't handle you sometimes," she giggled, still staring at the stars.

"Well hopefully you'll keep me around." Mercedes thought about the panic attack she had early this morning.

"I don't ever want to experience a time when you're not around." She said with a serious face, but still not looking at him. Puck was a little concerned with her serious tone and wondered what was going on.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Just a lot has been going on. I've missed everyone so much and I just don't want to think about a time where I'd have to miss you too. Everything's good right now and I just want it to stay that way."

"Well trust, you'll never have to experience that. And I have a feeling everything will stay good. Everyone has missed you so much; I don't think they can deal again without Mama Mercedes. Just make sure you stick around after we kick your butt tomorrow!"

"In your dreams!" Mercedes protested.

"Whatever, we'll see tomorrow… By the way how's your solo going?"

"I already told you I'm not telling you," she replied, trying to shut him down.

"I know, I know! But I remember that Shelby had to talk with you on Tuesday about it, did it get fixed?"

"Not really, but I'm working on it." Mercedes honestly had given up, but didn't feel like explaining it to Puck. She was good enough without all of this "who are you singing to" nonsense. It was too late to figure out her emotions and what not, so she dropped it.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You _are_ Mercedes Jones."

"Whatever that means," she scoffed underneath her breath. "This whole Shane thing didn't make that situation any better," she continued. Mercedes watched Puck's whole demeanor change. He fist clenched and his jaw became tight. She placed her hand on his wrist, trying to bring him back from the angry place he had seem to go to.

"Calm down, you said you wanted to talk, so I'm talking." Puck tried to take a deep breath.

"I know, but that guy… he's just-"

"Puck, I'm not excusing what he did and trust I won't be going back to him, but he was my boyfriend for a couple months and he did treat me well for the most part."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing! Shit happens and plus you know he wasn't completely wrong. Our friendship can be threatening. We're close and not a lot of people could handle that… Remember when Blaine caught Kurt texting someone else? He practically called him a slut and walked out! I'm not saying he was right, but he put up with a lot from us…Just. Just don't worry about him anymore. He's the past." Puck silently admitted that she did have a point and he trusted her when she said she was done. _To add to the long list: the way she calmed him down_. He thought about it and though he wasn't even with her, but the fact that Sam was even looking at her funny made his blood boil. Speaking off…

"And what about this new past that showed up?"

She became very solemn, "Sam."

"Yeah; did you know he was coming back?"

"Not until Thursday night. He came over to talk…and that's it before you ask."

"Fair enough; and him carrying your books in?"

"He was waiting by the parking lot." The kid was smooth, Puck had to admit that. Mercedes always appreciated a gentleman.

He looked down at his feet, wondering if he should make his next statement. He knew she wouldn't believe it, but he didn't want to give her any ideas. But just because he wanted her, didn't mean he should hide something that could possibly stop her from happiness. So he admitted, "You know he wants to get back with you."

Mercedes looked over at him, shocked of course, "What makes you say that?" He tried to think of some concrete evidence, but the simplest answer was,

"Well, you are Mercedes Jones."

"You know, that's the second time you've said that in one conversation. It's not really a reason." She looked down at her hands and began playing with them, unsure of everything.

"If you knew just how wonderful you are, you would know that's reason enough." Mercedes sat speechless at what Puck just said. It was times like this that made her realize that he was the only thing going right for her in this crazy time.

"So say he is back for me, why do you care?" She didn't say it with any anger or malice; she just wanted to know what he was thinking.

"You know why," he stated plainly. Mercedes just assumed it was about the initial break up. She didn't want to think about those terrible weeks after Sam left. Looking back she didn't even recognize the girl who locked herself in her room drowning herself in pictures of them, stuck in the "what ifs" of their relationship.

But then again, there was Puck, in her room, right next to her; constantly supplying the tissues that dried her tears.

"Yeah when he left I was broken, but I mean who wouldn't be?"

Puck just shook his head in disbelief. This girl just didn't get it. She didn't see how guys were falling over themselves to just get a glimpse of her beauty. That she drove them to extremes just to be near her. She didn't see how he was dying to just be the one next to her for the rest of her life; the one she turned to no matter what; the one _she_ loved.

"Mercedes, I-" He froze. He didn't know why but he did.

"Yes?" she asked. She was so oblivious to his feelings. He stared at her as she turned her head from the sky and faced him. The moonlight lit her face up and it was like he was realizing he was in love all over again. His palms became sweaty, his heart picked up pace. He willed his vocal chords to just say the words he knew he felt. But they just wouldn't and she was staring at him waiting for him to complete his sentence.

"I just really wish you knew how amazing you are," was the only thing he could muster. Puck silently cursed at himself, he had lost his nerve and prayed it would come back. Mercedes seemed to just accept his answer and he hoped there would be another chance to tell her.

"So you think you're going to get back with Evans?"

"I don't know. Probably not." To say he was relieved was an understatement.

"Why not?"

She seemed to get a little angry. "Well first off he can't just waltz back into my life and assume I've been waiting for him. Also I haven't heard from in months. What? Do they not have phones wherever he was? I know they have snail mail! Come on! I deserved a letter or something, just to let me know he was okay! ... And most of all, I wasn't me when he left." She took a couple of breaths and seemed to calm down before she continued. _Another thing: her desire to be independent_. "I was a sloberry, water eyed mess, who felt she needed a man to determine her worth, and I don't want to take the risk of it happening again if he leaves… And then with all this Shane drama, do you really think I'm put together enough for a relationship?"

"If the guy's right, he'll help pick up the pieces no question asked." And that was the truth. He had dealt with some pretty unstable women in his life. He thought of Quinn and her problems with Beth, Santana and the fact that she didn't know who she was, and Rachel…well, what wasn't wrong with her. But when he looked at Mercedes, he knew that there could be nothing so wrong with her that he wouldn't be there through the healing process.

Mercedes didn't really know what to say. He was right, she assumed, but there were a lot of pieces, could anyone handle them? It was quite for a moment as she pondered everything that had happen; everything that they talked about.

"I've gone through a lot this week, huh?"

"You think." The both exchanged smiles before Mercedes pouted and punched him in the leg.

"Ow!"

"I've talked. Now can I please have my dessert?"

"You're such a child, but yes."

And for the next thirty minutes they enjoyed the hot chocolate and cheesecake. They recounted the events of that evening with Beth; both seeming to try to make sure everything remained engrained in their memories. Mercedes talked about how her mom wanted him to come over and Puck update Mercedes on the things going on with his family. It was like the bad stuff of the last month never happened. They just laughed until the cried and appreciated each other's company.

When the dessert was finished, Puck moved the trash out of way and a pulled out a pillow and maneuvered himself so he was lying down, looking up at the stars.

"And where do I get to put my head?"

Puck just patted his chest, which Mercedes just swatted, causing Puck to laugh, but reached back into the pile of blankets to grab a pillow for her. She positioned herself closely to him in the small truck bed.

And then they just looked at the stars.

Puck didn't try to impress her with his knowledge of constellations or do some cheesy move by buying her a star. They were quite for a while, appreciating the beauty that was around them. He was just letting them, be.

"Mercedes…" She jumped a little; his voice booming disrupting the quite for a moment.

"These stars can't compare to the light you've been in my life. They will never shine as bright as you …" Mercedes listened to his words, mind was racing. While the stars where beautiful she had actually spent the time in the quite thinking about Puck. He was just so close and with everything that had been going on, she couldn't help it. She had never been more confused about her feelings about him then she was at that moment. All the little comments he had made that evening, the brushes of their hands, the almost kiss in the kitchen; It was all too much. There was something there, she just couldn't figure out what.

And now with this comment, so pure and simple; she didn't know what to do or how to respond so she did what was natural. She just reached her hand over to his and grabbed it, interlocking their fingers. She didn't know why she thought that was the best move, she just knew it was.

Maybe it was just to let him know that she was _there_ with him, in that moment.

Everything about him puzzled her, yet made sense at the same time; how he had so many different sides to him that he tried to keep very separate, but when he brought them together it made him…perfect. He was a badass father who was a romantic at heart, with fierce loyalty and had determination that could stop time. When Noah Puckerman was around, Mercedes realized, she couldn't seem to figure anything out. Logic no longer made sense and using emotion was out of the question. But one thing she_ knew_ was that he wasn't leaving, so she wasn't going to try and run away. She suddenly recognized the honor she had to be lying next to him; the privilege of having his thumb brush against hers; the joy of being able to watch him grow and mature. Noah Puckerman was by her side through thick and thin, constantly reminding her that he was _there _to.

Puck thought time had stopped. She reached out to grab _his_ hand and interlocked _their_ fingers. He wanted to say it. Those three words, but he couldn't because the air was caught in his throat. So instead he appreciated the simple gesture of holding hands. He knew he was being a wuss, but he shut the "badass" part of his brain down, making sure his concern with appearance didn't ruin this perfect moment. He knew that she wasn't declaring her undying love, but she was letting him know that she heard him and she knew he was _there_, right with him. Puck stared up at the stars, silently thanking whoever was watching over their ever growing relationship.

Mercedes wasn't ready to leave the field but she had become cold. She decided to take Puck's original offer and rest her head on his chest. She knew his body heat would be nice, but really she wanted to be cuddled up to someone who she knew cared about her. She thought he was asleep, but when her head was placed, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in closer, resting his hand on her waist. She listened to his heartbeat, beating against his chest, matching her own rhythm; their breathing in sync. She inhaled his scent and it reminded her of sunshine with a touch of the long road – weathered, but warm and inviting. They silently laid together, enjoying their tight embrace.

And eventually the calmness of their moment took over and she fell asleep; but not before she thought she heard him mumble,

"I love you."

* * *

><p><strong>Another AN: So I hope this made up for lost time. This chapter has been my baby for the last week. Hopefully you can forgive any errors, I've proofread it a bunch but I might have skimmed over somethings. **

**Please review! I would really appreciate it! It's encouragement to get the next chapter out! **


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